New Design Team Members

Good morning! 

 Today we are pleased to welcome the NEW Ladies in


The new Ladies are:

Rosmarie, Tracy, Netta, Goga and Branka.

Let the Ladies introduce themselves:

Rosmarie

I was born in 1960 and grew up in the beautiful Bavaria (Germany). I have been happy with my husband since 1980 and have been living in France since 1982. We have two sons and two grandchildren - a boy and a girl.

I started making my own cards in 2005. First I embroidered the cards and then I made 3D cards for a long time - the stamping virus infected me only in 2011 and since then I am definitely addicted! :-)

My blog was born in 2012 to share my creations with all those who love this hobby too!

Before making cards, I painted watercolors that I also framed.

I like spending time in my garden, reading or playing tennis. I am also a passionate cook and I like to surprise my guests with delicious dishes.

Tracy

Hello everyone, my name is Tracy from Australia. And now that I have stopped my happy dance over being selected for the design team I can tell you about myself. I am a Christian Wife and Stay at home Mum to two children – our daughter who is going to University next year to do her Masters of Teaching and our Son who will be graduating Year 11 of High School at the end of November. 

I have been a crafter in one way or another most of my life. I have loved craft since my Mum introduced me to a sewing machine when I was 10 years old.  I don’t sew as much as I would like to but I do still sew. I have also card crafted in one way or another since then as well. Mainly to give to family and friends and the most common kind of card made has been Christmas cards. But now I craft all occasions – even those hard male themed cards. With most of my Christmas cards you will not see a lot of snow themed images because in Australia we don’t have Snow/Cold we have Sand/Heat. So I try to find images that relate more to what we know.

I look forward to working with the other members of the design team and too seeing everyone’s entries into the challenges.

Netta

I live in FL USA with my husband.  I am blessed as my husband is very supportive of my hobby and he even turned a master bedroom into my craft room.  I work in an office during the day but at night & weekends I live in my craft room along with my 2 Yorkies who love to hang out with me.   I have been scrapbooking now since very early 1990's and card making since 2006. Since I discovered card making, it has become my favorite past time.  Always looking for something new. Exploring new techniques.  Many of these techniques I explore and discover can be used in both my scrapbooking and card making.  I love to create and then give away!  Christmas is my favorite holiday so I am looking forward to being on a team making Christmas cards all year long!

Goga

Hi, I am Goga and I come from a small town in the middle of Slovenia. 

I  began crafting at the very young age, started with  knitting, crocheting and making Idrija lace. Later on I picked up crafts with paper, where I found my new passion. I started with greeting and holiday cards, but now I'm regularly making cards an other paper crafts for all occasions.

Branka

Hello, I'm Branka and I live in Slovenia  with my husband and three children. First son is a student of biology, daughter and the youngest son are attending grammar school. Crafting is my hobby.
I've been crafting since I was a child: knitting,making polymer clay jewellery, embroidering, making cards and other paper creations. In the past few years, I've focused  on paper craft cards, scrapbook albums, mixed media frames and pictures. 
I like cooking and baking. I am very happy to have the opportunity to join the DT of the 52CCT.

We are so pleased to welcome them all to the Design Team.

New Design Team Members

Good morning! We do hope that your holiday preparations are well underway and going well. We're half-way through our December challenge to Pick a Previous 2016 challenge and there's still lots of time to join in the fun.

Today we are pleased to welcome the following ladies to our Design Team - Alison, Lucinda, EK, Myrna, Andreja and Evelyn. Let the ladies introduce themselves:

Alison

Hi, I'm Alison
I live in the UK with my husband, who is very tolerant of my stamping passion. Currently two of our three children are resident, they come and go like boomerangs. I like gardening, flowers, cooking a good book and being creative. I don't like having my photo taken. I've been stamping for a few years and love getting inky and trying out new techniques. The best thing about visiting all the amazing blogs is collecting ideas and trying them out. I've been following 52CCT for a couple of years and it has dramatically reduced the last minute card panic. I'm very happy to be joining the DT team and so much looking forward to the challenges and visiting the entries. I hope I won't feel the need to buy every new stamp and die I see!

Andreja

I am Andreja and I come from a small and beautiful country Slovenia, Europe. I am married 14 years, but unfortunately we do not have children. We both have some hobbies. So, for me is creating a great consolation. I am a creative person since I remember. Now create cards and other 7 years. I make the most greeting cards and other paper creations, but I am doing the other things, too, when I have time. I am very happy to be art of this great "Christmas all year" team:-) Hugs, Andreja

EK

EK Gorman is a self-taught mixed media artist who ventured into the addicting world of paper crafting a few short years ago. Quickly she discovered building small pieces of art inside the frame of a card to be ridiculously satisfying. When not locked into her desk designing or painting, EK is busy raising her three little kiddos and doting love onto her husband and family dog.

Evelyn

Hi, I am Evelyn.
I live in the south of Germany and I love travelling and crafting. Since I was able to hold a pencil, I was crafting, painting and drawing. During my stay in the USA in 2001 I discovered my passion for stamping. I love to combine stamps with every kind of colouring medium and I am always curious to try new techniques. Even when I am travelling I am having a kind of first-aid-crafting kit with me, so that I can always do something creative. I am very happy to have the opportunity to join the DT of the 52CCT as this was for years a wonderful inspiration source for creating Christmas cards all over the year and I am looking forward to visiting your entries to get even more inspiration.

Lucinda

Hello, I'm Lucinda. I live in Berkhamsted, just north of London in the UK, with my husband Neale and two year old daughter Bethany. I've been crafting since I was a child: sewing, knitting, building things out of cereal boxes, and of course, making cards. In the past few years, I've focussed a lot more on paper craft, learning a lot of new techniques, and expanding my crafty stash. I'm now starting to explore mixed media as well. Taking part in the 52CCT this year has meant that for the first time ever, I don't have a last minute rush to make Christmas cards before the posting deadline. I've had fun making cards all year, so I'm delighted to join the team. I share my creations at lucindacreates.blogspot.co.uk.

Myrna

I started card making about 5 years ago when my friend introduced me to her Cricut Machine. Since then I discovered Pinterest and You Tube and I do it all - stamping, stencilling, die cutting, water colouring, Copic markers, and multi medai. I love it all. I am retired, no kids, two furkids (Taylor & Swiff), and besides making cards, I love reading those trashy romance novels, photography and travel. I am looking forward to working with everyone. I have made a card for today too - here it is:

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We are so pleased to welcome them all to the Design Team.

Now, a quick reminder that you still have plenty of time to join in with our last challenge of the year. We want you to make a Christmas card and you can PICK A PREVIOUS 2016 CHALLENGE. The tabs at the top of the page will take you to our previous challenges. You can use one you really like, or have a go at one you missed. Our challenge closes at midnight (GMT) on Wednesday 28th December (that's 7.00pm EST in the States). We will announce the winners of the December challenge on Wednesday 4th January 2017.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas from the Design Team!

Winners & New DT Members

Happy New Year to you all.  We hope that you all had a very happy Christmas and a great New Year. This year we have five Saturdays in January, but as many of us are still recovering from the holiday, we thought we stretch the break just a little.  We would like to thank everyone who applied to join the team, we really were impressed with everyone.  So now it's time to welcome our new Design Team Members.

We are delighted to welcome Kaja to the team.  And we are especially pleased to welcome Jacqueline back to the team.  Let the ladies introduce themselves:

Kaja

Hi there! My name is Kaja and I'm from small European county called Slovenia. I enjoyed crafting since I remember but until about two years ago I didn't find that much time to do what I love. Now I'm studying maths in a local university and finally I have found enough time to craft. I have a very supportive boyfriend and family, I can’t imagine my life without all of them. I hope you will enjoy my cards as much as I enjoyed making them. For see more of my creations are welcome to visit my blog: kajcyika-crafts.blogspot.com 

Jacqueline Nicola

I live in Bridgnorth, Shropshire (UK) with my mum and our cat and I try to spend as much time crafting as I can! My crafts include felting, bead weaving and scrapbooking but my first love is card making - especially Christmas cards. Being a member of the DT here means I get to use my fabulous Christmas stamp sets all year round!

Now, it's time to let you know the winners from our last challenge of 2015.  It was really tough with over 60 entries.  Sadly some people used challenges from 2014 and even earlier, and there were also a number of entries that weren't cards.  But we did enjoy seeing them all.  Without further ado.  The winners are:

WINNER

#5 - Toni

This is a beautiful poinsettia with so much texture.

Toni picked our June 2015 Technique challenge - Mixed Media.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

(in order of submission)

#14 - Maura

Beautiful cardinal card - Maura used our Wild Woods theme from October 2015.

#36 - Zora

Such an adorable snowman - Zora used our Snowman theme from July 2015.

#64 - Lilian

This is a really cute card - Lilian also used the Wild Woods theme from October 2015.

Congratulations to you all - don't forget to pick up your badge from the tab at the top of the page and display it on your blogs.

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Finally, I thought it would be a good idea to remind everyone of the challenge rules and they are:

• We are a Christmas CARD challenge - please post only Christmas or winter-related cards.  No tags, scrapbook layouts or 3D projects.

Please mention 52 Christmas Card Throwdown in your post and provide a link so that others can join our challenge too.

Please link to your blog post and NOT your entire blog.

Your project must be new - no back links please.

The challenge will close at midnight GMT/7:00 pm Eastern time on Friday.

You may combine this challenge with up to 10 other challenges.

Please turn off word verification so that we may comment on your card more easily.  We realize a lot of you use it for safety reasons. We do our best to leave comments for each of our challenge participants, however, trying to figure out those letters and numbers can be very frustrating! We strongly suggest using comment moderation as a friendlier alternative.

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Wishing all our players a very

Happy New Year

Introducing the Newest 52CCT Design Team Members

Our recent design team call was met with wonderful enthusiasm! We were honored to have so many of you who want to be part of our team. After a good bunch of viewing, re-viewing and viewing again we did make our selections and are thrilled to announce our "newbies" to the 52CCT design team. Please welcome.... Deborah Frings, Patricia Hays and Sarah Stone. Let's hear a little bit about each of them shall we? 

First meet Deborah Frings

Hi, I’m Deborah - and right about now, I’m jumping up and down with excitement!! I’m thrilled to be picked to join the design team here at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown. Thank you ladies :)

I have always crafted in some form or other. I started by making cards and little books as a child, moving onto embroidery and later cross-stitch. I’ve always taken photos and made my own scrapbooks, although not with lots of embellishments and paper like you get now, just memory books. And I made the odd card or two. And recently I even tried my hand at knitting!!

I became seriously hooked on card making after receiving a handmade card from a friend. I started off small with a few boxes and the kitchen worktop as my studio. When we moved to North Wales in 2006 my small craft space got somewhat bigger, and now that I’m in the US my craft room has exploded!!  

You can see Deborah's lovely creations at Deborah's Gems.

And now meet Patricia Hays

Hi there! I'm Patricia, and I am delighted to be one of the newest design team members here at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown! Now that I've settled down from my initial happy dance, I'm looking forward to working with the rest of the team and seeing the Christmas creations shared by the challenge participants.

I honestly can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't doing some sort of artsy-crafty things. Over the years I've enjoyed crewel embroidery, counted cross-stitch, latch hook rug making, and scrapbooking. About 12 years ago, one of my friends became a Stampin' Up demonstrator, and I did the polite, supportive thing of attending her Open House... and promptly became addicted to making cards. The rest is history. :)

I've lived in Virginia all my life, although I've traveled and moved throughout the state. I currently live in the Shenandoah Valley with my husband of 20 years and our two teenage sons. Both of the boys are active in band - concert band, symphonic band, jazz band, and marching band - so that keeps us busy with practices, competitions, football games, and concert events. I work as a substitute teacher at the elementary school my sons attended when they were young. The flexible hours allow me a lot of crafting time on my non-working days. It's a pretty wonderful life!

I blog frequently at Thinking of Inking. I hope you'll stop by there for a visit!

And then there is Sarah Stone

Hi, I'm Sarah. I'm so excited to be part of this design team! Making Christmas cards all year round is just about a dream come true!

I was raised in Ohio, then I studied German in Berlin, which is where I met my husband. He is from Alabama, so we moved there after we got married in 2004. We moved to Wisconsin in 2010 when my husband found work here, and we're still here. I have 3 children, ages 6, 3, and 1, two girls and a boy.

My mom got me into scrapbooking when I started college, and I still scrapbook all my pictures. I have always made homemade cards, but I really got into it when I started consulting for Close To My Heart.

In addition to scrapbooking and stamping, I also like to read, crochet and knit, cook, and watch TV with my hubby. I am also a Mary Kay consultant, and I babysit to make some extra money. But the most important part of my life is God and his Son, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He saved me from my sins by his blood when I was little, and I am eternally grateful and can't wait to spend eternity with him in heaven. I love my church family, and try to serve at  church in any way I can.

 If you like challenges, come check out my Close To My Heart color dare blog, Color My Heart. I also have a 365 recipe blog: 365 No Repeats. My personal blog is Sarah Stone Creations.

So there they are - aren't they all just lovely? We are excited to have them join us and we know you will love seeing their wonderful creations each week too.

Please check back soon for the start of  a new month of challenges.  Louise will be our hostess this next month and she has some great challenges in store.  And remember to visit us on  Wednesday to see who was awared the Top Honor and Honorable Mentions for the February Felt Challenge.   

Meet the DT: Ruth Muzeen

Well, we've got just one last amazing DT member to introduce you to before we have to tell about ourselves...UGH! ;)  We've enjoyed getting to know these wonderful ladies so much and hope you have as well!  Without any further ado, let's have Ruth Muzeen tell us about herself!

Ruth Muzeen

Hello, my name is Ruth and I'm a stamp-a-holic!  I live in West Sussex with my incredibly patient and supportive hubby Owen and our sweet cat Tingha. 

I have been stamping and card making for about ten years now so you can imagine how much stuff I've acquired in that time!  My obsessive addiction is not entirely helped by having a well stocked craft shop within walking distance of my home!  I find it almost impossible to resist new crafty goodies but I am now operating a 'something enters the craft room = something leaves the craft room' policy to prevent me from becoming overwhelmed and running out of space completely!

My card making is a sort of therapy for me and I really miss getting inky if I haven't stamped in a few days.  I try to do something in my craft room every day although sometimes it is just tidying up after I've made a huge mess!  My favourite images are flowers and butterflies - and snowmen and snowflakes are firm Christmas favourites!  I truly can't imagine life without stamps, punches, dies, ink and paper - and sponge daubers!  

I run a card making group once a month for ten lovely ladies.  My favourite afternoon of the month - you can't beat being in a room with like-minded individuals, inspiring, creating, sharing and having a good laugh!  OK, an afternoon in a room with Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp MAY just beat that LOL!

When not crafting I enjoy reading, doing crosswords, games, going to the cinema and spending time with friends having fun.  Oh, and spending far too much time on the computer!

Every year since starting to make my own Christmas cards I've said that I'm going to start making them earlier rather than having the desperate rush in November and December.  Yep, every year I've said it and every year I haven't done it - until 2012.  A friend introduced me to the 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown challenge blog early in the year and I resolved to become a regular participant.  To be honest, based on my failure in the past, I did worry that my enthusiasm might wane!  I found I so enjoyed taking part in the interesting challenges each week and loved seeing my Christmas card box fill up, it was easy to carry on.

I was chuffed to bits to be invited to be a DT member.  It was such a boost to my confidence - I'm afraid I am my own worst critic.  I'm absolutely loving it - the ladies are all so great and so inspiring!  I am looking forward to making and sharing many more Christmas projects.  I really hope you enjoy seeing them - and maybe even getting inspiration from them - if that is the case I'll be a very happy crafter indeed!

Ruth

Thanks for sharing about yourself, Ruth!  We are so glad to have you here in our 52CCT family! If you want to know all about the founders of this site, Jacqueline & Mynnette, then stay tuned for next week...DUN DUN DUN!!!!! Merry stamping, friends!!! :)

Meet the DT: Danielle Vincent

Hello, friends!  Welcome to another week of learning a bit more about our fabulous DT.  This week we'll be learning more about the lovely Danielle Vincent!  Let's read what she has to see about her darling self! :)

Danielle

Hello! My name is Danielle Vincent and I'm so happy to introduce myself as one of the new design team members of the 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown Challenge.  I'm so looking forward to working with this wonderful group of talented ladies sharing our different styles and gaining inspiration from each other and all of you who participate in the challenges.  I hope to be visiting many of your blogs and promise to leave a positive note whenever I can.  Now for a little about me...

I have a son who recently graduated from high school and will be on his way to college soon and a daughter who is in middle school (I had to wait til the first one slept through the night to have another - LOL).  My husband, whom I've been married to for 22 years, is incredibly tolerant of my card making obsession.  I also have two of the cutest (and sometimes naughtiest) little Shitzu-X dogs - Pele and Izzy, that I refer to as my furry babies.  I've been an accountant (a CPA) for 16 years (that's how I pay the bills :o))  but my real passion is cardmaking and scrapbooking! I've been scrapbooking memories for my family for about 8 years. I got introduced to cardmaking about 4 years ago and well... what do I say..I immediately became addicted!  This hobby of mine started as a form of stress relief and has turned into the most wonderful obsession I could have ever imagined.  

After following some amazing blogs for the past couple years, I decided that it was time to challenge myself and take my creativity to the next level - sharing my work with others and trying new things.  I started my blog - D's Crafty Connection - in February and immediately jumped in with both feet and started entering challenges.  I haven't settled on one definite style yet - I'm still playing around and having fun as I continue to challenge myself.  I just can't tell you how excited I was to have been selected as DT member for 52CCT!

I LOVE all kinds of craft products but am especially partial to Stampin Up.  I was introduced to Stampin Up products by a wonderful demonstrator that I call E.T - for Evil Temptress because everything she showed me I wanted to have!   About two years ago I became a Stampin Up demonstrator myself and I have made some wonderful connections with a great group of amazing women through this. I'm looking forward to making some more wonderful connections through my blog and my creations with many of you. Hugs!

Danielle

Thanks for telling us about yourself, Danielle!  We're so glad to have you with us!  Come back next week for another spotlight on another darling girls! :)  Merry stamping, friends!!!

Meet our DT: Patty Gorka

Welcome to another "getting to know the 52CCT DT" post! ;)  This week, we will learn more about the fabulous Patty Gorka!

Patty Gorka

Hi everyone!  My name is Patricia Gorka, but everybody calls me Patty.  Some of you know me as LaLatty and I originally got that nickname from my husband who used to call me 'Patty LaLatty' when we first met over 12 years ago and it just sort of stuck with me.  

In addition to being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I'm also a stay at home mother to three wonderful children ages 17, 7, and 3.  Yep, you read that right!  My kids are 14 years apart!  What was I thinking, right...LOL, but seriously I love being a mom and I'm so grateful for my family.  I'm even lucky enough to have a wonderful husband who is supportive of my stamping hobby.  In addition to my kids and my husband, I also have a 1 1/2 year old Beabull puppy that keeps me busy.  Everyone always asks me what is a Beabull so in case you are wondering too she's a mix of 1/2 Beagle and 1/2 English bulldog. 

I began stamping and card making just over 8 years ago when I was invited to a stamping party and ever since I was hooked!  I try to find time every day to do some stamping so that I can keep my sanity, plus it gives me some new projects to post on my blog. I truly enjoy the past few years since I began stamping and meeting new blogging friends has been so much fun!

Patty

Thanks, Patty!  We're so glad to have you on the team and seeing your gorgeous creations each week!  Stay tuned until next week when you'll meet another of the DT gals!  Merry stamping! :)

Meet our DT: Louise van Vuren

Hello, friends!  We'd like to personally introduce you to our new DT members one at a time!  This week, we'd like to let you a bit more about DT member Louise van Vuren!  Take it away, Louise! :)

Louise

Hi Everyone! I am a relative newcomer to crafting as I only really got into it all about two years ago...I have always loved cutting and sticking but never knew that you could create all this!! I first got started by going to a Make and Take workshop run by a local Stampin'Up demonstrator and, as they say, I've never looked back!  SU remains my fav brand of stamps, papers and punches and they just keep adding more and more! I joined a couple of craft clubs and then, about 4 months ago discovered blogging and challenges when I created my own blog Cats, Cards and Cupcakes.

I am not the best stamper, as I'm a bit messy, but it's getting better. At the moment I'm really into ribbon, and everyone loves bling, don't they?? But mostly I love paper! I love making decorative papers to use on my cards! I love cards that fold or open in an unusual way!  I see so many amazing creations when I look at the entries on the challenge blogs and I am really happy to be part of this fantastic crafting 'family'.


Louise xx

Welcome to the 52CCT family, Louise!  We're so glad to have you here with us!  Stay tuned here for more about our fabulous DT and to see their amazing creations each week!  MERRY STAMPING!!!!