The current Pile It On Challenge is going to last all December, so you have plenty of time to play along! The sponsor is Designed2Delight and our theme is Bling.

One of the Pile It On DT members is sitting out this session (life happens!) so I rushed in to pinch-craft. Designed2Delight very generously let us choose our images from their great store, and let me tell you I'm gonna have to buy this one! Aren't these Whimsical Cardinals so expressive‽ If you click on the image, you can view it larger to see all the details.

I knew I wanted to paper-piece the image, but I ended up using fabric from a pack of Heidi Grace swatches. I printed the background pieces, cardinals, and their scarves onto the fabric, which I ran through my inkjet printer by taping it securely onto a piece of cardstock. Making sure the top is well-secured is key. This method works well for printing on tissue paper, too.

I was especially pleased to find that the images were offered together as well as separately; that's not usually the case with stamps (even digital ones), and it makes this a super deal! Having the images separately as well made it easier to print & piece. Fussy-cutting the fabric wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done, but I'm happy with the result.

I added some fringe to pre-beaded stick pins that Mom sent me recently. Man, those are some serious pins! My childhood best friend had a beautiful collection of vintage hat pins, and I remember thinking they were more formidable than a collection of pocket knives! They were really fun to use.

I stamped & heat-embossed the sentiment in red onto a ready-made tag. It says "happy holidays from our house to yours," but since the photo above actually includes my neighbor's house, here's one facing our actual house:

Challenges:

Pile It On Challenge #49: Bling

Going Grey with Scrap-Creations Challenge: Christmas

Jingle Belles: Holiday Card Link-up Party

Raise the Bar Challenge #86 + DT Call(!): Christmas

Bling it On December Challenge: Christmas

Scrappin' Chics December Challenge: December Holidays / Anything Goes

Forever Friends December Challenge: Christmas + use an Animal