Christmas Cards All Year 'Round

February Challenge & Announcement

2012-02-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone. It's time again for another challenge, but before we get on to the challenge we have an announcement to make.

As you all know Colleen and Lesley have been the keepers of this wonderful little blog for sometime now, and I think you will agree they have done a wonderful job of keeping things running. Due to other commitments the ladies have decided to step down and pass on the running of the blog to myself (Tracey) and Kat.

So what does this mean for the blog? At this stage everything will continue as it has. You may notice a few little changes but for the most part everything will stay the same.

Now just one more item of business before we go on to the Feb challenge.

The winner of the December prize:
#14 - Deonna B

Congratulations Deonna. Please email us at ccayrblog at hotmail dot com to claim your prize.

We will be back soon to announce the January winner.

So on to February's challenge:

Seeing it's Valentine's this month the challenge is to incorporate hearts into your card. This can be what ever you like - a stamp, embellishment, paper so long as there is a heart somewhere on your card.

You have until 11:59PM Central Time Febuary 29th to add your link below.

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of January! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards we'll pick a second winner!***

The prize this month is a Stampin Up Stamp Set "Faith In Nature" provided by Kat.

Now here is some inspiration from the Design Team

Prizes!

2012-01-27T19:13:00.000-06:00

Hi! I want to apologize for not posting the winners for September - November sooner but my life has been absolutely crazy.

September - Jenny H #75
October - Karen C #43
November - louise #9

Please email me at sunifla1(at)comcast.net

Thanks.

January 2012 Challenge!

2012-01-01T00:39:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year Everyone and hope you had a wonderful evening! We wish you all the best for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!

And with the new year and the beginning of another month, we also have another challenge... A non-traditional colour challenge, but could also be combined with traditional colours, so think pink, purple, orange etc.
And as a bonus challenge - use some kind of embossing (dry, heat, etc). We know not everyone has the tools for embossing, so don't want to prevent people from playing, but it might be a fun one to add if you have the tools/product!

Clare

Tracey

Kat

Colleen

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards we'll pick a second winner!***

Keep your eyes out throughout the month for more reveals and intros to our new team members as well! It's going to be hard to beat all those fabulous entries from December! Way to go ladies! You had some serious mojo going! Looking forward to seeing more cards soon, so get your mojo on again!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2011-12-25T23:08:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to say hi and that we hope you had a wonderful day with your family and friends celebrating the holiday! I'm sure some of you were good enough to have Santa visit as well!

Bet there were also lots of people gushing over all the wonderful cards you ladies have made over the year and we're looking forward to seeing more!

Remember that if you've got some time off in the next week, you can still enter cards and play for the fabulous prize this month!!! Just be sure to link up your cards HERE! Some of you sure have been busy and there are so many amazing cards linked up here this month! Thanks for playing along with us as it's you ladies that inspire us to keep doing what we do!

A special shout out to all the ladies on the design team too! Please check out their blogs linked on the right here on our blog! Don't know what we'd do with out you!

Merry Christmas!
Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Design Team

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-06:00

First of all, we'd like to thank all of you that are interested in the design team here and put your names in for it! So much talent! I've been sick for about two weeks and am therefore a little behind on things, but Lesley and I will try to choose the new people for our design team quickly and let you know!

In the meatime, don't forget about the incredible prize donated by Kat this month and check out the current challenge and have some fun with it!

Cheers,
Colleen

What a prize!!!

2011-12-11T11:44:00.001-06:00

Yes ladies, here it is... I'm going to reveal the prize for one of you lucky ladies in the US. Yes, it does need to be someone in the US and you'll understand once you see it...

You don't really want to know do you???

It was kindly donated by our very own design team member, Kat, so we need to send a HUGE shout out and thank you to her!

Who would like to know what the prize is?! You? Really?

Now...

Yes ladies, you're seeing this correctly! Kat's donated a BIG SHOT for one of you in the US to win! So, get those entries in ASAP!

And it looks like we're already over 20 people for entries, so there'll be another prize this month as well!

Come on and get those cards in ladies!
Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

December Challenge - Already!

2011-11-30T21:29:00.023-06:00

OK ladies, how's everyone doing with those cards?! Are you finished for this year? If not, this is a great chance to get things finished off and if you're done for this year, then there's no time like the present to get started on next year's cards!!!

December Challenge - We're going to make it easy this month because we just want people to play along, so the challenge is... Anything goes! Just make sure that they're newly created this month!
Yes, you heard it right - anything! Get out those scraps or the new stash you had to have this year, but never got the chance to use. Just start creating!
Take a look at what our design team has created for you as inspiration!

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of December! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards we'll pick a second winner!***

Keep your eyes out throughout the month for more reveals and intros to our new team members as well! Looking forward to seeing more cards soon, so get your mojo on!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

We have a SECRET!

2011-11-17T12:31:00.001-06:00

You're going to have to keep paying attention because there's going to be a BIG giveaway in December!! The prize was generously donated by one of our DT members: Kat! Thanks soooooo much! You'll have to stay tuned to see what it is....

Just a reminder about the Design Team call as well!

And you've still got a couple of weeks to play with us in the November challenge!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

DT Call!

2011-11-13T10:39:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone! It's time again to put out a DT Call for January 2012 - June 2012.

We're going to add a few spots to our design team as well as some guest designers. There, unfortunately, isn't compensation other than all the glory of sharing your cards and inspiring others! As well, you get a lot of cards made for Christmas the following year!!!

All you have to do is link a card that you've made within the past 6 months. We will close the DT Call on November 30th at midnight. Good Luck!

Cheers,
Lesley and Colleen

November Challenge!

2011-11-01T13:28:00.002-05:00

Happy November everyone! Hope you all had a safe Halloween full of fun, but now it's time to get serious about finishing off those Christmas cards this month since the holidays are coming up faster than you think!

For this month, we're challenging you with a sketch created by our very own lovely Lesley!

Here is some amazing inspiration from our design team and you're going to love how different they all are based on the same design!

***Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of November! (This challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. If the linky isn't working for you for any reason, just post your link in the comments! Thanks!

Come join is this month and show us what you're creating with this lovely sketch! Can't wait to see!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

October Challenge

2011-10-01T15:44:00.009-05:00

OK, we all know that there's another "holiday" in October and that's Halloween. So... your Christmas cards this month need to have at least one of what are considered Halloween colours (orange, green, purple, black). We'd also like to see a punch or die cut somewhere on your card and this can mean regular punches, Spellbinders dies, border punches, something that was purchased pre-done, etc!

~Cindy~

***Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of October! (This challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. If the linky isn't working for you for any reason, just post your link in the comments! Thanks!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Prizes....

2011-09-30T09:02:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can't believe how many entries we have for September..I'll be picking the winner this weekend:)

The August winner is Sharon Duff!!!!

I still need email addresses for the following people:
April - Mavis
June - Donna Mundinger

You can email me at sunifla1@comcast.net

September Challenge

2011-09-01T00:19:00.022-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's September already! I hope everyone is well on their to having a great stash of Christmas cards.
This month we are having a stash challenge and the only "rule" is that anything you use on your cards needs to be at least a year old - stamps, papers, embellishments: everything!

~Cindy~

~Kerri~

~Tracey~

~Carol~

~Ciska~

~Clare~

***Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of September! (This challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. If the linky isn't working for you for any reason, just post your link in the comments! Thanks!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Winners!

2011-08-28T22:45:00.000-05:00

Evening, I would like to apologize for the delay in getting the prizes out to people and picking the winners the past couple of months. I've had personal issues that I've been dealing with.

Anyhoo, the winners for June and July are....

Donna Mundinger and Jenny H!

Please email me at sunifla1 (at) comcast.net. I will be sending packages out this next weekend.

Thank you.

Thank You!

2011-08-06T13:27:00.000-05:00

We just want to say a HUGE thank you to our amazing design team that does all this amazing work for us here.

And a special thanks to Pat today as she has resigned from the team, but has been here with us quite a while. Much appreciated and hope you keep playing with us once in a while so we can see you work!

And it's exciting to see all the cards already for the challenge this month! Keep them coming...

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

August Challenge!

2011-08-01T18:49:00.001-05:00

July was another amazing month for card entries and we can't wait to see more!
Hope you have some time to play this month!

August Challenge
There is a list below of products that can be used for your cards. You need to use 4 of them on your card - your choice! For example, my card might used a stamped sentiment (Stamping), Striped paper (Stripes), Inking and ribbon. It may also have some glitter and brads and that's fine too! Extras are alright!

If you do more than one card, you can use different products!

Chipboard
Hand stitching
Ribbon
Inking
Stamping
Textured paper (embossed is good!)
Metal embellishments
Alphabet stickers or rub-ons for the sentiment
Stripes

Here's some inspiration from the design team...

Tracey

Ribbon,Stamping, Textured Paper and Stripes

Ciska

Chipboard, Ribbon, Textured paper (glittered paper), Metal embellishments (brads), Rub-on for the sentiment and Stripes

Clare

striped paper, textured paper, chipboard and ribbon

striped papers, textured paper, chipboard and stamping
Audrey

Striped paper, stamping, ribbon and inking

Carol

Ribbon, Stamped image colored with Copics, Sentiment cut out on chipboard-colored-attached with pop dots, inside stripped paper made with score tape and glitter for texture.

Stickers, chipboard, ribbon, metal jingle bells, Distress ink

Embossed textured paper, stamped image colored with Copics, Dies cut from thin chipboard, metal chain to hand ornament

Cindy

Hand stitched, rub on sentiment, inked edges and ribbon

Stripes (diagonal), rub on sentiment, metal (brad) and ribbon

Stamping (blue swirl), textured paper (heat embossed background), metal (brad) and inking

Ribbon, inking, metal (brad) and rub on sentiment

Kerri

Stripes, Stamping, Alphabet rub-ons, and Textured Paper/Ribbon

***Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of August! (This challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards we'll pick a second winner!***

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. If the linky isn't working for you for any reason, just post your link in the comments! Thanks!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Welcome Carol!

2011-07-05T01:39:00.001-05:00

And last, but certainly not least, we'd like to welcome Carol (Granny) to the team!

http://craftingranny.blogspot.com/

Hi, My name is Carol but I'm better known as Craftingranny. I live in the USA and am from a small midwestern town, St. Joseph, MO, known as the place where the notorious outlaw Jesse James was killed and the beginning of the Pony Express. We have quite a historical city that dates way back to the days of trading posts and the movement to the west. I am married to the man of dreams and we have a blended family of 3 boys and 1 girl, 7 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren with one due in September. A little over 2 years ago I became hooked on scrapbooking and making cards so decided to start a blog in the hopes I could learn from others. These past few years I've met so many wonderful crafters from all over the world and learned a little something from everyone. Christmas is my favorite time of the year and I love making Christmas cards and projects. I'm so excited to be chosen to be on the wonderful team at CCAYR and can't wait to share and see all of your wonderful creations each month. "Hugs"

Carol has been a Guest Designer for us before and I know she makes amazing cards, so we're looking forward to more of that! Can't wait to see the fun you get up to with the August challenge - a little bit different kind of challenge, but you're not getting hints from us!

Cheers,

Colleen and Lesley

Welcome Kerri!

2011-07-03T21:31:00.001-05:00

Today we'd like to welcome Kerridwen Niner to the team!

http://fotf-constellations.blogspot.com/

Hi I'm Kerri from the UK. I have one child who has just finished his first year in school which I thought would mean I'm back to work but instead I'm chasing my tail finding something that fits round a school day, I have four step children too but their off doing their own thing. To keep me sane I craft. I have been crafting for as long as I can remember and have tried my hand at lots of different crafts including jewellery making, glass painting, cross stitch, drawing, painting, scrapbooking but my favourite which this year has taken up all of my time is card making. I have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the monthly challenges here at CCAYR and am chuffed to be included on the design team so share with you some of my creations and see some of yours :)

Love that Santa on that card Kerri and can't wait to see what else you have in store for us! I know you're busy with the August challenge already!

Please join me us welcoming her to the team!

Cheers,

Colleen and Lesley

Welcome Clare!

2011-07-02T22:00:00.002-05:00

Today, I'd like to welcome Clare to the team!!!

miscanthuscrafts.blogspot.com

Hello, I'm Clare from the UK. I live in the beautiful green countryside in a county called Herefordshire. I've been a crafter all my life and was lucky enough to study Art and Design at University. Crafting is a great way of forgetting your worries and it helps me to chill out after a hard day's work as a Primary School teacher. I love all types of crafting including scrapbooking, sewing, knitting and altered art. But cardmaking is my favourite and there is nothing nicer than making Christmas cards so I'm excited to be part of the Design Team at Christmas Cards All Year Round and I look forward to see everyone's wonderful festive creations.

Beautiful card Clare and can't wait to see what else you have in store for us! I know you're busy with the August challenge already!

Please join me in welcoming her to the team!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

New Design Team Members!!!

2011-07-02T11:25:00.000-05:00

Well, I'd like to start by thanking everyone that applied for the design team! I'm always amazed at the talent out there and it makes choosing people difficult for sure!

We've added 4 new people to the team and asked a couple more to be Guest Designers as well. Please welcome Ciska, Carol, Clare and Kerri to the team and I'll be introducing them over the next week. You can see links to their blogs on the right and I'll post them again as I introduce them!

For today, I'd like to start by welcoming Ciska to the team!!!

http://craftycardcrafts.blogspot.com/

Hello everyone, my name is Ciska Reilly. I am 34 years old; I live in the south of the Netherlands, together with my husband and several fish. I started paper crafting in 2010 because I just wanted something to do that was both creative and productive. I was literally hooked from the start. In no time at all, I had a whole room full of crafty goodies, I'm sure you know how that goes! I have a special weakness for pretty designer paper (especially glittered or double-sided), the one thing I can never resist buying. I am very exited to be a member of the CCAYR DT team and hope to have a lot of fun! I can't wait to see what kind of challenges there are in store :)

This card is fabulous Ciska and can't wait to see what else you have in store for us! She's busy with the August challenge already!

Please join me in welcoming her to the team!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

PS Keep looking for more new designers over the next few days!

July Challenge!!!

2011-07-01T00:14:00.001-05:00

Wow ladies! Awesome to see all the fabulous entries for this past month and we can't wait to see more! Hope things are into summer mode for you where you are - no matter what the weather!

July Challenge
With summer weddings coming up, white should be a main "colour" and then we'lll need some bling - gems, plearls, glitter, etc.
Added challenge for fun - Flower(s) of some kind too!!!

Julie

Tracey

Cindy

***Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of July! (This challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards we'll pick a second winner!***

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. If the linky isn't working for you for any reason, just post your link in the comments! Thanks!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

PS We'll have exciting new DT news very soon too!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!!

2011-06-16T18:26:00.002-05:00

I'm so sorry but I know I've fallen behind on picking the winners the past couple of months. So without anymore waiting here are the winners for April and May!

April - Mavis - Bugaboo GC
May - Barbara - Kat's Prize

Thank you all for playing every month!

Lesley and Colleen

June Challenge!

2011-06-01T07:59:00.001-05:00

Happy June! Can you believe we're almost 6 months into 2011. We hope you are busy making Christmas cards and to make it a little easier on you this month is an ANYTHING GOES challenge. Checkout what our fabulous design team has done for you:

***Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of June! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. If the linky isn't working for you for any reason, just post your link in the comments! Thanks!

Design Team Call!!!

2011-05-29T10:23:00.000-05:00

Yes ladies, it's that time again already! Time to add a few new people to our design team!! It sure snuck up on us as well! I think it might partly be the time if year with the crazniess of the end of the school year creeping up. Hope the weather has been better where you are than here on the southern coast of BC!

We'll all be into Christmas cards in a serious way before you know it here, so if you're interested in helping us out and showcasing your work every month on the blog, just send a e-mail to me (Colleen) at col12@hotmail.com with "Design Team" as the title. I'll be forwarding these on to Lesley as well!

Include the following in your application...
Full Name
E-mail
2 Christmas cards of your choice - new or old!
A direct link to a Christmas card on your blog
A short paragraph about yourself and why you're interested in becoming a CCAYR design team member

The deadline for entries will be June 15th, so that gives you a couple of weeks to get your submission in! Looking forward to seeing all the amazing creations and welcoming a few new people to the team!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

May Challenge!

2011-05-01T02:15:00.008-05:00

Welcome to May everyone! We know lots of you have those cards started because we've seen them and we can't wait to see more. Everyone is welcome to play whether this is your first month or 15th!

We're doing something a little different this month and the challenge is a sketch challenge. One of our lovely DT, Audrey, was kind enough to create the sketch for this month and we can't wait to see what everyone does with it! So, without further ado, the challenge for this month is to design your cards using the following sketch:

***Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of May! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

Thanks Kat!!!

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards we'll pick a second winner!***

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

March Winner!

2011-04-08T21:13:00.001-05:00

The winner of Kat's fabulous prize is Miss Sayrah!!! Congrats! Please email me at sunifla1@comcast.net with your address.

April Guest Designer!

2011-04-03T21:30:00.002-05:00

I would like to introduce one of our guest designers for the month of April. Her name is Carol and she will wow you with her work.

Carol

Hi, my name is Carol, better known as CraftinGranny or just Granny in blogland. I retired from the University of Missouri in 2005 and have spent my time doing all sorts of crafts, ceramics, painting, scrapbooking, cardmaking, blogging, sewing, remodeling, water and flower gardening, and lots of fun things. Cardmaking has become my all time favorite hobby. I love playing in challenges and trying out new techniques. There are so many wonderful designers and so much yet to learn.

My life is shared with my best friend and wonderful husband of almost 25 years. We have a blended family of 3 sons and 1 daughter, 7 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren with 1 due in September. My youngest son is married to a wonderful young woman who blessed our family with an additional 4 granddaughters and 11 great-grandchildren. Can you imagine trying to get everyone together at one time for a family picture? Total chaos! Of course, I can't leave out the two babies we have at home and just couldn't live without, Sparkey, a minature white Schnauzer, and Molly, a 112 lb Golden Lab. Yes, Sparkey is the Alpha dog and Molly is the mother hen. They are a joy, spoiled rotten, and so much fun!

It is such an honor to be a guest designer for CCAYR. I hope you enjoy the cards I've designed to share with you and will inspire you to get creative and play along with us this month. A special thanks to Colleen and Lesley for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this very talented team.

Here are her gorgeous cards:

Please make sure to leave her some love.

April Challenge!

2011-04-01T10:39:00.004-05:00

Happy Spring! I hope everyone has started their Christmas cards...it's not too late to start joining us on the challenges.

This months challenge is to use an oval on your card (shape of an egg for Easter) as well as ribbon somewhere on your card.

Checkout what our wonderful design team made this month.

***Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of April! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards we'll pick a second winner!***

We'll be revealing the cards and a little about our guest design team members for the month on Sunday!

Cheers,

Colleen and Lesley

More March Inspiration!

2011-03-18T09:41:00.000-05:00

Well, we're just past mid-month, so how's everyone doing with their cards for this month? How many have you made so far this year? Doesn't it feel fabulous to have a start on them and not be trying to do them all in November?!

Well, here's to get you inspired once again, here's a little more design team eye candy!

Audrey

Pat

Julie

Don't forget to link your cards in the original thread for this month that has the challenge in it as well! Be sure to check the details for the challenge this month so you can be entered for the monthly prize!

Cheers,

Colleen

PS If you're having any trouble using the SimplyLinked for any reason, just be sure to add the direct link for your cards in comments. I haven't figured out yet why some people are having issues with this!

February Winner!

2011-03-08T20:07:00.000-06:00

There were a lot of great entries this month, thank you so much for playing along with us. The winner for February is #19 Carol A! Please send your address to me at sunifla1@comcast.net.

March Guest Designers!

2011-03-03T12:12:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay, but I'd like to introduce the two lovely ladies that are guest designing for us this month: Jess and Chris! Be sure to click on their names below and check out their blogs too!

Jess

My name is Jessica, and most people call me Jess, hence Jess's Crafty Things for my blog title. I was born and schooled in South Africa, where I picked up a love of bright colours in Natal, and moved to the UK after completing my education and now live in Ireland where the people are warm and friendly.

I love doing anything crafty and other interests include scrapbooking, drawing, painting, calligraphy and making small toys. My most passionate craft for the last few years has been cardmaking, and I live with a very understanding partner who humours me when it comes to my paper and colour addiction! I started out with a love for decoupage, but very soon found stamping and still like to layer and layer, the more the better. Most of my cards are clean designs, although it depends what mood I am in and if the distress inks are closeby.

I make cards for all occassions, but Christmas and Wedding cards are definite favourite because I can user lots of glitter, flowers, die cut shapes and punches. My cuttlebug is never far away either, and is honestly my best ever craft investment!

When I am not crafting I work full time and love walking and baking when I get time.

I am delighted to be a guest DT member for CCAYR and hope you enjoy the samples I have made as I had fun creating them!

Chris

Hi! My name is Chris Pereira and I live in Colorful Colorado. I have loved creating my entire life, but I have only just (about 3 years ago) discovered the joys of creating with paper, ink and stamps. I have been married to my best friend for 27 years and between us we have five marvelous sons. Our sons are all married to exceptional women and we have five gorgeous grandchildren, two girls and three boys who range in age from 6 to 2. I have been a potter for over 20 years and I also enjoy weaving and working with fibers in any form - sewing, knitting, cross-stitch - just everything.

My husband and I are avid sailors and we currently have a 36 foot sailboat in Massachusetts. My husband retired in April, 2010 and he is now living aboard until the fall. I will be joining him for several weeks this summer and am really looking forward to exploring the New England coast from the water!

I have two cats and this year have some wonderful flower and vegetable gardens. I am learning how to take pictures with my new Nikon P90 camera and having a great time documenting the growth of my gardens. I’m also trying my hand at creating digital sentiments and scrapbook kits. I have always been a collector of graphics and am now finding new ways to use them.

I enjoy teaching classes both in stamping and computers. I have worked in IT for many years and have worked as a Systems Administrator and Webmaster for the Native American Rights Fund for the last 17 years.

I am so thrilled to be working with this team of exceptionally talented ladies. Thanks!

Your cards are beautiful ladies! Thanks so much for playing with us this month!

Make sure your cards for this month follow the March challenge -

Your cards needs 3 patterned papers and 3 brads, eyelets or gems. You may add other embellishments, a sentiment, cardstock, etc as well.

Can't wait to see more of what you ladies create and make sure to post your cards to the March challenge post!

Thanks,

Colleen and Lesley

March Challenge!

2011-03-01T02:44:00.004-06:00

Hello everyone and welcome to another monthly challenge here at Christmas Cards All Year Round! We certainly hope you've managed to get a few cards done already for the 2011 holiday season and here's to getting your mojo going again with some fabulous inspiration from our design team. Look for guest designers tomorrow as well

So without further ado, here's the new challenge!

Since March is the 3rd month, we'll be working in threes! Your cards needs 3 patterned papers and 3 brads, eyelets or gems. You may add other embellishments, a sentiment, cardstock, etc as well.

Sound like fun and a bit of a challenge?! Well, here are some ideas to get you going!

Kat

Marianne

Tracey

Cindy

Awesome cards once again ladies! And now for this month's prize...

Our own design team member, Kat, is very generously offering the prize below for this month's winner! There are SU Tiny Tags (clear mount stamps set) and a Northern Flurries Embossing Folder! Fabulous prize Kat! Thanks so much!

***Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for the above prize at the end of February! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)
Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. If the linky isn't working for you for any reason, just post your link in the comments! Thanks!
***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards we'll pick a second winner!***

We'll be revealing the cards and a little about our guest design team members for the month tomorrow!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

February Almost Over!

2011-02-26T15:26:00.000-06:00

Yes ladies, we're almost at the end of the month here again, so make sure you get your 5 cards done and posted on THIS thread in the next couple of days to be eligible to win the fabulous monthly prize donated by Kat!

Here are a couple of last minute cards for inspiration as well...

Lesley

Colleen

Have fun playing with some cards this weekened and come back Tuesday for the new challenge and some great inspiration!

Cheers,

Lesley and Colleen

Winners!

2011-02-21T20:39:00.000-06:00

I hope everybody is busy creating your Christmas cards for 2011! The winners for December and January are Sherri Thompson and Mia, congrats! Email me at sunifla1@comcast.net and I will send you a gift certificate to Bugaboo Stamps.

Lesley and Colleen

February Guest Designers!

2011-02-02T02:30:00.003-06:00

We have two lovely ladies joining us as guest designers this month that have more amazing inspiration for you today!

Beate

My name is Beate, aka Beacarona in the Blogworld, I am 33 years old, married, and I live in Hamar, a small town in Norway. I have been scrapping more or less constantly for the last 2 or 3 years, and I love this hobby! I usually make cards, because I love stamping and the painting of the stamped images. I am a huge fan of Sarah Kay stamps with all the lovely details, and Magnolia stamps which is just adorable.

When I decorate my cards I use a lot of roses, and some more roses ;o) And nearly almost some ribbons and charms. And my sewing-machine has never been used as much as after I started this card-making hobby.

When I'm not sitting in my scraproom I'm working fulltime as a secretary, and I also have a dog which is my other big hobby, or should I call it lifestyle..?

Therese

Hi!

I’m a 31 year old girl from a town called Larvik in southern Norway.

I’m living in Florida, US, with my boyfriend who goes to school here

I’ve always liked different hobbies related to paper, and about 2 years ago I started stamping and scrapbooking. I mostly make cards, but maybe there will be some LO soon.

I like vintage style and pastels, but am constantly trying to challenge myself with other styles.

I love Christmas, and I like to work on Christmas cards all year around.

Thanks soooooo much for joining us this month and sharing your amazing work with us! I'm sure this'll help inspire people this month to get at those cards!

Remember the challenge for February, with Valentine's Day coming, is to have red and/or pink on your Christmas card as well as dimension of some kind. The dimension can be an embellishment like buttons or brads or can be done with using foam tape under something. There just needs to be some dimension to your card.

Enter your cards on this thread HERE to be entered for the prize draw at the end of the month!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

February Challenge!

2011-02-01T02:30:00.005-06:00

Welcome to another month here at CCAYR! We're so very happy that so many of you played along with us last month and you can keep your eyes open for a challenge winner in the next week!

The challenge for February, with Valentine's Day coming, is to have red and/or pink on your Christmas card as well as dimension of some kind. The dimension can be an embellishment like buttons or brads or can be done with using foam tape under something. There just needs to be some dimension to your card.

And for some inspiration, here are some samples from the design team...

Awesome cards once again ladies! And now for this month's prize...

Our own design team member, Kat, is very generously offering the prize below for this month's winner! There are brads, buttons and stamps from Basic Grey's Euphoria line! Fabulous prize Kat! Thanks so much!

***Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for the above prize at the end of February! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks!

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards we'll pick a second winner!***

We'll be revealing the cards and a little about our 2 guest design team members for the month tomorrow!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Wow!!

2011-01-30T16:51:00.000-06:00

You've outdone yourselves ladies! Awesome seeing all the fabulous entries this month and we're now over 100 for the month! You've got a couple more days and then the new challenge will be posted...

Just as a little last minute inspiration and push, here are some cards from another one of our design team members: Audrey!

Great cards Audrey! Thanks!

Well, hope you get another one or 2 in before the end of the month here and remember that you need to have 5 cards linked before the end of the month to be eligible for the prize! Keep your eyes out on the 1st for the new challenge and a great prize hosted by one of our very own DT members!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Design Team Inspiration!

2011-01-15T21:08:00.000-06:00

I'd like to start by welcoming Julie and Tracey to our team!

Julie

Hi, I'm Julie and as the title of my blog suggests, I have a passion for, an addiction almost, to all things paper!! I've been married for 24 years to a very patient and understanding man (God knows he has to be) and we have three very grown up daughters. . . for me, paper fills a void! I have a very small dog who has a very big personality and also look after a guinea pig that one of my daughter's "forgot" to take with her when she moved out. I don't have as much time to craft as I would like . . . (well does anyone?) but I thoroughly enjoy the time that I do have!

Tracey

I was born in Kingston, Ontario Canada. I emigrated to Australia in 1990 when I married my Aussie husband. I'm a keen crafter, and dabble in many different things, but especially enjoy papercrafting. I've been stamping for over 12 years and scrapbooking for about 6. My favourite aspect of papercraft would have to be cardmaking.

Our January Guest Designers

Nina

Nina Fløtterud is my name and I`m 33 years old. Live in a small place in Norway with my boyfriend, a little baby daugther and a dog.

Started to make cards in 2007, and that have been my passion ever since.

Here you can see my cards http://ninaskortkrok.blogspot.com/

Tine

Hi, my name is Tine E. S. Kristiansen and is 34 years old. I live in a nice village on the west coast of Norway. Here I live with my fiance. Together we have a daughter who is almost 3 years old, and he has a boy from before who is now 13 years old.

I have "always" been doing some hobby stuff. I 've even had a hobby shop that I took after my mother. But I did not begin with Scrappbooking and card making before a little after our daughter was born. I wanted to make her an album and "stumbled" over scrapping web shops.

Then I went on my first scrap shop. And I was shocked.

I began in a small way on the kitchen table and I had my few things in a cardboard box. But then we made a hobby room, and things became much easier.

Now I sit almost every day and enjoy making cards and other stuff in there.

I do not work currently because of back and pelvic problems. So then I have all day to enjoy myself making cards (at least some of the day). I create lots of cards that people order. I also have some stores that sell the cards for me.

Christmas is very special for me. I love making things for Christmas. So this challenge blog is totally great for me.

Thanks for that I was allowed to be a GTD!

~Tine~

A HUGE thanks to all these ladies for their amazing work this month and I'm so happy to see all of the entries already for this month! Keep it up!

You can check out this month's challenge HERE!

Cheers,

Colleen and Lesley

More Inspiration!

2011-01-02T10:41:00.001-06:00

Hi again everyone!

As I mentioned yesterday, we're going to be posting at different times throughout the month just to help keep your mojo going and to showcase the amazingly talented ladies we have here at CCAYR.

I'm here today with some gorgeous cards from Marianne and these are sure to get you going on some new cards!

Check out her blog for more inspiration as well!

And remember, the challenge for January is Anything Goes, so come and play with us! Get those cards started for next year. And a little hint is however many cards you make in January, address that many envelopes as well as it'll be one less thing to do at the end of the year again!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T09:25:00.007-06:00

Well, here's hoping you started off 2011 right and that the year brings you all good things! We're also hoping you're going to join us again this month and start working on those cards for next Christmas - there's no time like the present to get a head start!

January Challenge - We're going to make it easy this month because we just want people to play along, so the challenge is...

Anything goes!

Yes, you heard it right - anything! Get out those scraps or the new stash you had to have this year, but never got the chance to use. Just start creating!

Take a look at what our new design team has created for you as inspiration!

This was my version of one of Kristina Werner's

Holiday series cards that you can see HERE!

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of JANUARY! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

Keep your eyes out throughout the month for more reveals and intros to our new team members as well! Looking forward to seeing more cards soon, so get your mojo on!

Cheers,

Colleen and Lesley

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-22T16:33:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

Just wanting to wish everyone a wonderfully Merry Christmas from Lesley and I. Looking forward to seeing any last minute cards you manage to get in before the end of the month that follow the criteria of the challenge. And just a reminder that while we always love seeing your work, cards/projects do need to meet the challenge criteria of that month to be eligible for the prize!

These were a few last minute ones I whipped up today with some leftovers from the Three Bugs in a Rug North Pole line! Made for some easy cards for sure! And the best part is that they all have little Santas on them for the challenge too!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Colleen and Lesley

DT Announcement!!

2010-12-20T10:58:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Can you believe it's now less than a week away? Tis the season to be crazily busy and we apologize for the delay in the DT annoucement as a result. We've had trouble contacting people through their card posts, so we're announcing the team here and I'm asking if you could please contact me (Colleen) at col12@hotmail so that I can send you some details!

We're going to add 2 new team members and 2 Guest Designers every month! Please know how hard this was! We were planning on only have one Guest a month, but there were so many great cards that we added an extra every month! We look forward to having more of you on the team in the next session, so please keep playing!
So, without further ado...

Our 2 New Team Members are
Tracey - My Creative Place
Julie - A Passion for Paper

Guest Designers
January - Tinemor
              Nina
February - Bea
                Therese
March - Jess
             Christine
April - Carol
          Sonja
May - Paula
          Wendy

Congrats ladies and we look forward to hearing from you and seeing more of your amazing work! Look for profiles of the two new design team members soon!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

November Winner!

2010-12-04T21:02:00.000-06:00

Happy December! Before I get to November's winner I just want to let everyone know that going forward starting with November's winner, instead of stamp sets I'm going to be giving away gift certificates to an online stamp company. I'm doing this for a couple of reasons: 1. I'm out of stamp sets. I usually go to LSS garage sales and find brand new SU sets that haven't been touched but with a couple of the LSS closing around here they are getting harder to find. 2. The postage to our international participants is really expensive and I want them to be able to win a prize so this way they will get stamps too.

Now...on to the November winner....38. Nicky!!!! You will receive a $15 gift certificate to Bugaboo Stamps. Please send your email address to sunifla1@comcast.net. Thanks and congrats!

December Challenge!

2010-11-30T21:53:00.032-06:00

So...it's finally here...did you get all your Christmas cards made this year? Well if you need just a little bit more inspiration here is our last challenge for the year. Include either an image of Santa or the word Santa on your card.

Check out what the design team made...what a way to end the year!

~December Guest Designer - Donna~

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of DECEMBER! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

This month the RAK is another great stamp set!

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks!

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards I will pick a second winner!***

We can't wait and see what you create this month! Have fun!

Colleen and Lesley

DT Call

2010-11-15T23:18:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone! It's time again to put out a DT Call for January 2011 - June 2011. We're going to add a few spots to our design team and then 6 guest designers. All you have to do is link a card that you've made within the past 6 months. We will close the DT Call on November 30th at midnight. Good Luck!

Lesley and Colleen

October Challenge Winner!

2010-11-15T23:14:00.000-06:00

Thanks to someone pointing out that we haven't posted the October winner...so here it is....Beccy! Please email me at sunifla1@comcast.net.

November Challenge!

2010-10-31T21:31:00.006-05:00

Good Morning! Did everyone get enough Halloween candy??? I know I'm taking the rest of ours into work tomorrow except for what I'm letting my daughter keep.

Are you ready for the next challenge? In the month of November create 5 cards that have trees and ribbon it...easy peasy.

Check out these wonderful creations from our Design Team:

~Our Guest Designer - Lisa~

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of NOVEMBER! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

This month the RAK is another great stamp set!

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks!

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards I will pick a second winner!***

We can't wait and see what you create this month! Have fun!

Colleen and Lesley

September Winners!!!

2010-10-06T21:48:00.000-05:00

Hi Ladies, I hope you are busy making Christmas cards for October:) We had exactly 20 ladies make five or more cards for September so that means I picked two winners....2. Beccy and 16. Sharon. Please email your address at sunifla1@comcast.net. Thanks!

October Challenge!

2010-09-30T22:30:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone! The countdown is on...Christmas is just 3 months away. I hope the inspiration here has helped you with all your wonderful Christmas cards.

The October challenge is going to be a card that has stitching (real or faux) and distress the card in some way....anyway you like.

Check out these wonderful creations from our Design Team:

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of OCTOBER! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

This month the RAK is another great stamp set!

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks!

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards I will pick a second winner!***

We can't wait and see what you create this month! Have fun!

Colleen and Lesley

Last Minute Inspiration

2010-09-24T14:43:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd post a few more cards here for you to see what I've been up to and to hopefully give you a last minute push to get some cards in for the challenge this month. I was busy a couple of days ago, but wanted a few minutes of creative time, so I decided to practice what I preach in all my classes - if you're going to make one card, it's just as easy to make 2 or 3 when everything is out anyway!

I used the challenge and did square cards and then add lots of glitter and gems to them. I know you can't see the glitter in the top ones, but I added it to the patterned paper as I did in the second ones as well as on the snowflakes. The top cards were new paper from Imaginisce and the bottom ones were some fun leftovers of last year's Bo Bunny that I hadn't used. None of these were particularly hard or time consuming, so get that card mojo moving and create some more cards before the end of the month!

Keep your eye out for a new challenge next Friday too!
Cheers,
Colleen

August Winners!

2010-09-09T04:30:00.000-05:00

Woohoo, we had at least 20 people join us last month so that means I picked 2 names!!! The lucky winners are Lori and Linda B, congrats! Please send me your address and if you live in the US I will Fedex them out to you today or tomorrow. My email is sunifla1@comcast.net Thanks!

September Challenge!!!

2010-08-31T22:34:00.013-05:00

Hi Everyone! Christmas is just 4 months away...are you ready yet????

The September challenge is going to be a card that is any shape other than the standard 4 1/4 X 5 1/2. It can be suare, rectangular, curcular, big, small, whatever, but not the standard size. You card must also have gold, silver, crytal or pearl on it somewhere as well!

Check out these wonderful creations from our Design Team:

~Our September GDT - Jovita~

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of SEPTEMBER! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

This month the RAK is another great set from SU!

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards I will pick a second winner!***

We can't wait and see what you create this month! Have fun!

Colleen and Lesley

July's Winner!!!

2010-08-08T14:26:00.000-05:00

Wow, I couldn't believe how many ladies particpated in our July challenge, it was overwhelming!!! Our winner is Deonna B:) Please email me your address at sunifla1@comcast.net, thanks!

Colleen and Lesley

August Challenge!!!

2010-07-31T23:49:00.004-05:00

Happy August Everyone! Can you believe we're about halfway through the summer? I hope it's been nice weather for you!

Here's our challenge for August.... Since many of us have had a lot of heat this summer, we're going to cool things down with SNOWFLAKES! Yes, as some of you guessed from the sneaks, your cards this month need to have snowflakes of some kind - in the paper, embellishments, stamping or whatever you like!

Check out these wonderful creations from our Design Team:

Marianne

Cindy

Helen

Kat

Audrey

Pat

Lesley

Colleen

Our Guest Designer - Trish

My name is Trish Hughes. I love being a mother to twin boys and a wife. While I enjoy making cards and scrapbooking for every occasion, I truly love creating Christmas projects. Which just happens to be my favorite time of year. And here is her card...

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of AUGUST! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

This month the RAK is another great set from SU!

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks!

YOU NEED TO LET US KNOW IN THIS POST WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE 5 CARDS IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE MONTHLY PRIZE.

***Also, if at least 20 people create 5 cards I will pick a second winner!***

We can't wait and see what you create this month! Have fun!

Colleen and Lesley

July Challenge!!!!

2010-07-30T12:34:00.000-05:00

THE JULY CHALLENGE IS GOING TO STAY AT THE TOP SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO SEE OUR NEWER POSTS, THANKS!

Hi everyone, thank you so much for hanging in there with us as we get the new DT in place. We really appreciate it!

The challenge for July is that anything goes...you heard it...make any kind of Christmas cards you want:) We can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

Leave a comment if you do our challenge! Please only enter NEW CARDS that are made in JULY.

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of JULY! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

This month the RAK is another great set from SU! Plus I'll throw in a couple other little goodies:)

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks!

YOU NEED TO LET US KNOW IN THIS POST WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE 5 CARDS IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE MONTHLY PRIZE.

We can't wait and see what you create this month! Have fun!

Colleen and Lesley

Sneak Peeks for August!

2010-07-26T11:48:00.000-05:00

Well, you ladies have been doing an amazing job with your cards for this month and we're very excited to see all of the entries!

Here's a sneak of a few of the design team cards for next month... See if you can figure out what the challenge is!

You'll be able to see these and more on the 1st when we do our reveal and give you the new challenge! In the meantime, you've got a few more days to get your 5 cards in for the draw for this month! Have fun!

Cheers,

Lesley and Colleen

And the Winner Is...

2010-07-26T01:43:00.002-05:00

OK ladies, so we have a winner in the giveaway!

Would you like to know who???

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Really???

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Now???

OK, I give...I checked out Marianne's blog on the 14th and Lily's comment was chosen! E-mail me at col12@hotmail.com and send me your info Lily! Congrats!

Remember the Giveaway!

2010-07-23T15:31:00.000-05:00

OK, you've got until tomorrow (let's say the end of the day!) and I'll choose a winner on Sunday... To check out the details and find out how to get involved, check out THIS POST!

Keep your eyes open tomorrow for a few sneak peeks as well!

Introducing Lesley and Colleen!

2010-07-18T02:22:00.000-05:00

As most of you now know, we're helping Deanne out with the blog for a bit here, so we'll introduce ourselves a bit too! You'll see out design work monthly as well!

Lesley

"Hi! My name is Lesley and I live in sunny Jacksonville, FL. I’m originally from Toledo, OH but I also lived in St. Louis for a few years (Go Cardinals!!!). I’ve been with my husband Robb for 15 years and we have a 5 year old daughter. I started scrapbooking when my daughter was born and a couple of years ago I found stamping and never turned back. I guess I’ve always done some kind of art, when I was younger I took art classes at The Toledo Museum of Art and The Toledo Zoo. I’ve also cross-stitched, painted ceramics, and decorated cakes. When I’m not working or making cards I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, and watching my favorite TV shows."

You can check out more on her blog HERE! And remember to check out her blog as well as all the DT members as they're posted this week to give you a chance to win!

Colleen

Hey! My name is Colleen and I live in beautiful BC, Canada. I'm a teacher by profession though currently at home with my two boys (7 and 4). I care for my niece and nephew during the week as well and then work and teach in my lss for a little fun and to get out of the house! I think I've always been a scrapper at heart and have my 30 year old sticker collection to prove it! I have a stash of Christmas paper begging to be made into cards, so this is the perfect spot for me and I love it!

You can check out my blog HERE!

Here are a few cards for you to have a peek at for inspiration for the July Challenge since anything goes!

We're lovin' all the cards that everyone's adding to the challenge for this month! Keep at it ladies! We'll try and get you some more sneak peek inspiration about a week!

You never know, you might find your card(s) showcased on the blog one day too, so keep your eyes out...

Cheers,
Lesley and Colleen

Introducing Helen - Again!

2010-07-17T04:05:00.001-05:00

We're happy to be able to have Helen back with us for another term here at Christmas Cards All Year Round!

My name is Helen and I have been scrapping for about 7 years, and absolutely love it! I love making memories for my family and being creative. I am always on the lookout for new techniques and am excited to spend another term here at CCAYR!

Here is some inspiration for you from Helen for your July challenge since anything goes!

Thanks for the great cards and inspiration and we're glad to have you back as part of the team! Can't wait to see more!

You can check out more on her blog HERE! And remember to check out her blog as well as all the DT members as they're posted this week to give you a chance to win!

We're finishing up the weekend with intros to Lesley and I, so check it out on Sunday!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Introducing Cindy!

2010-07-16T03:52:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friday and we are pleased to introduce Cindy today as another new member of the DT!

Hi! I'm Cindy. I've been married 13 years. We have one furbaby and lots of nieces and nephews. If I'm not at my job as an xray tech at the hospital you can find me in my office creating cards and scrapbook LO's or surfing the web. I love to find new techniques and apply them to my projects and find so much inspiration from other paper crafters blogs. I'm so excited to be on this DT. I'm hoping to have all my Christmas cards made by November so I don't rush at the last minute.

Here is some inspiration for you from Cindy for your July challenge since anything goes!

Thanks for the fun cards and inspiration Cindy and we're glad to have you as part of the team!

You can check out more on her blog HERE! And remember to check out her blog as well as all the DT members as they're posted this week to give you a chance to win!

We'll be highlighting the returning members of the design team this weekend, so pop in when you get the chance! And don't forget the giveaway!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Introducing Audrey!

2010-07-15T03:19:00.002-05:00

We are pleased to introduce Audrey today as another new member of the DT!

Hi, I'm Audrey and I'm from the United Kingdom. I started out as a cardmaker in early 2004 but progressed to scrapbooking and it was only last year that I took up cardmaking again just to use up my enormous leftover scrap papers! I discovered how fun it was to make cards again and have been doing it more and joining challenges on card blogs. I discovered CCAYR early this year as one of my goals was to ensure I have enough Christmas cards at the end of the year to give away. Hence, I decided to do a few each month and CCAYR helped me achieved that goal. I'm only delighted to be asked to join the team here and that will give me even more incentive to create more Christmas cards.

Here is some inspiration for you from Audrey for your July challenge since anything goes!

Thanks doe the wonderful inspiration Audrey and we're glad to have you as part of the team!
You can check out more on her blog HERE! And remember to check out her blog as well as all the DT members as they're posted this week to give you a chance to win!

Stay tuned for more designers and inspiration every day this week - right through the weekend!

Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Guest Designers and NING Site

2010-07-14T18:24:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! Please give a warm welcome to our guest designers...

August - Trish - http://handfullofstamps.blogspot.com/

September - Jovita - http://everydaylifeinmymind.blogspot.com/

October - Candace - http://candid-candace.blogspot.com/

November - Lisa - http://kindcreations.blogspot.com/

December - Donna - http://indianainking.blogspot.com/

I'm so glad these ladies are joining us through the end of the year.

Regarding the NING site, we had to let it go because they were going to start charging for their services. BUT I have a new home for us over at Paper Craft Planet where you can upload your photos if you need to or if you would like to chat. The group is called Christmas Cards All Year Round. If you do upload your photos just make sure you use the keyword for the month which you will be able to find in the post.

Thank you so much for playing with us!

Colleen and Lesley

How About A Giveaway?!?

2010-07-14T14:42:00.002-05:00

OK ladies, just to show you how excited we are about the new team and the new challenge here this month, we're going to do a little giveaway! There's a circular mini album in a box, some chipboard letters, some Jenni Bowlin die cut journaling cards, some brads and a Prima bingo card stamp! These are all in an envelope ready for someone's name and address!

So, you ask, how do you get a chance to win this? Well, you're going to go check out the blogs of the new girls on the DT and leave them a little love and let them know you came from the CCAYR blog! At the end of next week, after all the of the DT have had introductions and everyone has had a chance to comment (both on the blogs of the girls that have been introduced and the ones to come!), I'll choose one of the blogs and randomly pick someone from the comments on their blog. You won't know which blog, so check them all out!

I'll announce a winner on the 24th and you'll be getting a little sneaky peeky of what's to come for next month as well!

Clarification - You want to go and check out the PERSONAL blogs of all the new DT members and I'll pick one of them to choose a comment winner from. Don't worry, I'll check any posts from the week (until the 24th) to see who's commented, so don't worry about which post of the DT member's you're commenting on!

Join in the fun!
Cheers,

Introducing Marianne!

2010-07-14T03:41:00.001-05:00

We're at hump day already, so let's celebrate by introducing Marianne and welcoming her to the team!

My name is Marianne and I live in Norway with my husband and two little boys at the age of 5 and 7. In the day I'm a accountant and at the evening I'm spending time with my family and making cards. I've been making cards since 2008 and I really love this hobby!

Here is some inspiration for you from Marianne for your July challenge since anything goes!

Can't wait to see more of your wonderful cards Marianne!

You can check out more on her blog HERE!

Stay tuned for more designers and inspiration every day this week - right through the weekend!
Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Introducing Kat!

2010-07-13T03:28:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Tuesday with out introduction to another new team member - Kat!

My name is Kat Roberts and I live in Northern California and grew up in the midwest. I have been crafting since I was 9 years and started 4-H. I work full time and am married to my husband, Scott. We are expecting our first baby, a girl!, on August 30th!

Congrats Kat to you and Scott and can't wait to see some baby pictures too!

Here is some inspiration for you from Kat for your July challenge since anything goes!

We're looking forward to seeing more of your wonderful cards Kat!

You can check out more on her blog HERE!

Stay tuned for more designers and inspiration every day this week!
Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

Introducing Pat!

2010-07-12T03:49:00.001-05:00

We're going to start introducing the new design team with Pat who's actually returning to us from a little hiatus on the team! Welcome back Pat!

My name is Pat Sergeant and I am the mother of 4 children (3 boys and 1 girl). I have 2 grandaughters that are the joy of my world. I have been stamping since 2005 and as they say...the rest is history. I have always had an interest in one craft or another since I was very small. If there is a craft out there, I have most likely tried it. I am delighted to be a part of the CCAYR design team again (this is my second go around).

Here is some inspiration for you from Pat for your July challenge since anything goes!

Can't wait to see more of your gorgeous cards Pat!

You can check out more on her blog HERE!

Stay tuned for more designers and inspiration every day this week!

Cheers,

Colleen and Lesley

New Design Team Announcement!

2010-07-11T10:23:00.001-05:00

We've very sorry for the delay, but also extremely thankful that these amazing ladies will be joining us for the next six months on our design team!

Pat - http://just4fun2-pat.blogspot.com/
Kat - http://dearlc.blogspot.com/
Marianne - http://marianneshobby.blogspot.com/
Audrey - http://organisedmess.blogspot.com/
Cindy - http://cre8ivecindy.blogspot.com/

And returning...

Helen - http://neverenoughtime-helen.blogspot.com/
Lesley - http://ourscrappylife.blogspot.com/
Colleen - http://www.randomponderingincanada.blogspot.com/

Keep your eyes out over the next week for a little intro to each one of them as well as some inspiration from all of us for the July challenge!
Cheers,
Colleen and Lesley

New DT Announcement and Challenge Coming Soon!

2010-07-06T18:06:00.000-05:00

Keep your eyes open ladies! Lesley and I are in the final stages of putting a great new team together and we'll be announcing as soon as we can get information from everyone!

Along with that will be the new challenge and some DT inspiration!
See you soon!
Cheers,

June's Winner!

2010-07-05T21:21:00.001-05:00

Good Evening Ladies! The winner for June's Challenge is Gail K, congrats! Please contact me at mailto:sunifla1@comcast.net so that I can get your prize out to you.

Also, if you haven't received your prize from me for the month you won, please contact me.

Thank you so much for particpating.

July Challenge - Slight Delay

2010-07-01T22:24:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

My name is Colleen and I've been on the DT here for the last 6 months. Lesley and I would just like to let you know that we'll be keeping things up and running here while Deanne takes a little bit of well deserved time for herself.

As a result of the slight change in plans, we've had a bit of delay with the July Challenge and the new Design Team. We're very excited about the design team announcement and what's coming this month! We also can't wait to show you some more fabulous inspiration for your Christmas cards that are going to be needed before you know it! We're only 177 days away from the big day now and cards need to be out long before that!

We're hoping to have an announcement at the beginning of the week, so check back soon!
Cheers,

Oh my goodness!!! Winner!!!

2010-06-12T16:13:00.003-05:00

I totally forgot to choose a winner for MAY!!!!!

So sorry!!!
It is....

...

...

SHANNON!!! Shannon, please EMAIL ME with your address and I'll get it to Lesley so she can get your prize out to you.

Thanks to everyone who participated in May!!! Your participation is appreciated!!!

JULY-DEC DT CALL!!!

2010-06-05T06:09:00.000-05:00

It's time to choose some more DT members!!! If you'd like to create some Christmas cards for our challenges for the next 6 months (July- Dec), post a link to any Christmas card you've created in the last 6 months!!! This call will end on June 26th.

June Challenge....

2010-06-01T21:42:00.003-05:00

Happy June Everyone! Can you believe school is almost out for the summer??? I know my daughter is ready for some summer fun.

Here's our challenge for June....In honor of summer let's use at least one bright color on our card and a favorite embellishment.

Check out these wonderful creations from our Design Team:

~LIZ WEBER

~ANDREA WIEBE

~MICHELLE BUSCHUR

~COLLEEN HEIDRICH

~Other cards coming soon....

Leave a comment if you do our challenge! Please only enter NEW CARDS that are made in JUNE.

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of JUNE! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

This month the RAK is another great set from SU!

Plus I'll throw in a couple other little goodies:)

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks!

YOU NEED TO LET US KNOW IN THIS POST WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE 5 CARDS IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE MONTHLY PRIZE.

We can't wait and see what you create this month! Have fun!

Deanne and Lesley

WINNER for April is...

2010-05-04T19:28:00.000-05:00

GAIL!!!!!

Gail ,please email me your address and I'll pass it on to Lesley who has graciously supplied the awesome prize for April!!!

Thanks, everyone, again for participating!!!!!

May Challenge!!!

2010-04-30T22:34:00.005-05:00

I hope everyone is having a nice Spring and making a dent in their Christmas cards.

Here's our challenge for May....Since April showers bring May flowers, let's use flowers on our cards this month along with ribbon(s) and button(s).

Check out these wonderful creations from our Design Team:

~LIZ WEBER

~And our Guest DT for May is...

Joan

Here are our cards:

~Deanne

and Lesley

Leave a comment if you do our challenge! Please only enter NEW CARDS that are made in MAY.

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of MAY! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

This month the RAK is:

Plus I'll throw in a couple other little goodies:)

YOU NEED TO LET US KNOW IN THIS POST WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE 5 CARDS IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE MONTHLY PRIZE.

We can't wait and see what you create this month! Have fun!

Deanne and Lesley

April Challenge

2010-04-01T02:58:00.010-05:00

Hi there, everyone!!! Are you getting excited about Christmas yet!!!??? Well, making Christmas cards should get ya excited!!!

Here is the challenge for APRIL...

Since spring is here, make a Christmas card with at least ONE soft pastel color on it. (could be baby blue, soft pink, pale yellow or pale green)

Here are the design team's cards.They are absolutely lovely!!!

~LIZ WEBER

~And our Guest DT for April is...

Cathy Schellenberg

Here are our cards:

Lesley

Deanne

Do you see some similarities in our paper choices and image choices!!! Cool,huh!

The prize for this month is another SU stamp set plus a few other goodies I'll throw in:)

We hope you enjoy creating Christmas cards this month!!! Tell your friends about our blog and have them join in on the fun too!!!

Thanks to Lesley for offering the awesome prize again this month!!!

MARCH winner is...

2010-04-01T00:54:00.000-05:00

SHANNON!!!

Congrats Shannon! Please contact me and I'll pass your address on to Lesley who offered a wonderful set of stamps for March challenge!

Thanks to ALL of you who participated! There were so many participants this month and that made me so happy!!! Thanks to all of you who are using our CCAYR NING site as well!

The WINNER for FEBRUARY is...

2010-03-02T10:39:00.000-06:00

JAN of Jan's Things!!!

Congratulations!!! Email me with your address and I'll pass it on to Noreen for her to send out your prize.

Thanks to all the ladies who participated in February!!! Get to work on March now for a chance to win some beautiful stamps that Lesley is offering!!

Have fun!!

MARCH Challenge!!!

2010-02-28T23:35:00.003-06:00

Wow, I just don't know where February went but I hope you were able to check out all the beautiful creations everyone created!!! I can't wait to see who is going to win February's prize from Sharing Memories Scrapbooking...stay tuned.

The challenge for the month of March is to use mostly green on your card and one of my favorties...snowmen!

Check out these wonderful creations from the Design Team:

~ANDREA WIEBE

~MICHELLE BUSCHUR

~LIZ WEBER

~COLLEEN HEIDRICH

~DEANNE BURTON

and mine...

Here is our Guest Designer Tina

Leave a comment if you do our challenge! Please only enter NEW CARDS that are made in MARCH.

*Remember if you do 5 cards this month following the challenge, your name will go into a draw for a prize at the end of MARCH! (this challenge CAN be combined with any other blog or forum challenges that you do this month.)

This month, the RAK is:

A stamp set from SU, plus I'll throw in a few other goodies for you!

Please upload your cards to your blog, a gallery, or photobucket and remember to give us the EXACT links to see them. You can do 5 of the same cards or 5 different ones (as long as they follow the current challenge) If you do 5 of the same, please show us a picture of them altogether. Thanks!

YOU NEED TO LET US KNOW IN THIS POST WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE 5 CARDS IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE MONTHLY PRIZE.

We can't wait and see what you create this month! Have fun!

Deanne and Lesley

Ready for JANUARY'S WINNER????

2010-02-10T19:44:00.001-06:00

Congrats to Nancy!!! Email Deanne your address so she can send out your prize. Woohoo!

I haven't chosen a winner yet...

2010-02-07T04:58:00.000-06:00

for January ,but I will in the next few days, I'm hoping. My family is going through a death in the family and we need some time. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.