Welcome to my second post today and the new challenge at As You See It. It’s a speed challenge this time, so the card needs to be made in less than 10 minutes! My design team card looks a lot more complicated than it actually was… I opted to use one of the ‘bijou joy to the world bauble’ stamps from Clarity, together with the branch from their ‘birdhouse garden’ set.

So with a speed challenge you can gather everything together before you start so you are ready to go (including a stopwatch to time it). Obviously, I didn’t have time to do my usual step-by-step photos, and I forgot to take one of all my bits and pieces before I started! Anyway, here we go…

I trimmed a piece of card to fit a 5×7 card blank, then stamped the infill bauble (as opposed to the outline one) with WOW clear ink and heat embossed it in metallic gold powder. The stamps come with pre-cut masks, so I covered the bauble and then repeat stamped the branch in ‘rustic wilderness’ Distress Oxide down the left hand side of the card to create a Christmas tree. I started with the branch just above the bauble and then worked up and down from there. It’s actually quite quick once you get going. I added the little hook from the stamp set with black Versafine Clair, then extended it over the branch with a black Micron pen – I also drew in the edge of the bauble where the pattern was open. I glued it onto the card blank and lightly shaded around the bauble with a pencil so it didn’t look quite so flat. I finished by adding a few sparkly red Glossies amongst the branches.

Now you’re no doubt wondering how long this all took me…? Well I told you it was quick once I got going!

So what can you create in 10 minutes or less on our ‘Christmas bauble’ theme? Drop over to As You See It and check out the fab inspiration from my design team-mates for more ideas. We’d love to have you join us – and don’t forget to tell us how long your card took. In the meantime, I’m heading over to Hand Stamped Sentiments to link my card up with their challenge as well (the top right picture on their collage is baubles hanging on a tree), together with the new grid at TicTacToe for their right hand column of tree, metallic & ornament.