Holly Jolly - Inspired by a Christmas Carol

It's time for a new challenge over at Holly Jolly. This time the challenge is "Inspired by a Christmas Carol". Why not stream some Christmas music to get you into the mood and start by creating just one or two cards to get you started. There's 156 days left to Christmas. It may seem like it's a lot, but it's actually only just over 22 weeks. Just sayin'....

As usual we have wonderful sponsors who are giving away prices to our winners. Remember that all prizes are given to randomly drawn winners, so everyone has a chance to win! Our generous sponsors this week are Lacy Sunshine, Dr Digi and Melonheadz. Why not hop over to their pages to find inspiration for your cards. 

For my card I got to play with Dr Digi's Christmas Chris. I hope it's pretty clear which Christmas song I used for inspiration for my card! If you aren't sure, let me give you a hint: something about being made fun at because of a red nose. I coloured Chris with Copics and fussy cut him. I chose a matching paper from my stash and stamped the custom sentiment using Lawn Fawn's Violet's ABC's and Stampin' Up Endless Wishes. I popped on a  reindeer paperclip for embellishment. 

I would like to link up with the following challenges:
Addicted to Stamps #153 - Holiday
Daring Cardmakers - Christmas in July 
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
The Glory of Christmas #63 - Feature a Creature 
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra - Anything Goes
Sweet Stampin' Christmas - Oh Deer

Card: Kraft card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card
Stamps: Dr Digi's Christmas Chris, Lawn Fawn Violet's ABCs, Stampin' Up Endless Wishes
Paper: Dovecraft Merry Magic 8x8 designer paper pack
Ink: Tim Holtz Vintage Photo
Colouring: Copics
Other: Reindeer paperclip from my stash

Holly Jolly Challenge - Out of this world

Is it just me, or does that Santa remind you of the
 gun-crazy alien Santas in Doctor Who?

So we just made it through Christmas and New Year. Any sane person would lay off the Christmas crafting for a while, right? Wrong!! You have just endured the craziness of Christmas, and it did get hectic again this year, despite your best intentions. So why not make it a little bit easier on you this year, and start with your Christmas cards super early? Come on, it's just one little card!!

The first Holly Jolly Christmas challenge of 2015 kicks off today. You have two weeks to link up with us, and our theme this time is Ornaments. Remember, it doesn't have to be a card, it could be a Christmas ornament or any other inspiration you get from the word ornament. We have plenty of sponsors for our first challenge, which of course means plenty of great prizes to be won too. Our sponsors this round are Bugaboo Digi Stamps, Eureka Stamps, Dr Digi's House of Stamps and Stamp and Create.

I love the quirky images over at Dr Digi. Seems like the digi stamp world is saturated with cute girls with huge eyes, and that really isn't my style. But I absolutely adore this Merry Alien from Dr Digi, giving me a chance to make a very different Christmas card. Pop over to see what other fun images they have on offer. I made the background using my much beloved galaxy technique. It's always fun to dig out the acrylics and get messy. I have linked to some instruction videos in my post here. I coloured the alien using Copics, and made the orb in his hand into a earth christmas ornament. I wrote part of the sentiment using a white gel pen, and die cut the word "earth". To finish off, I added some adhesive gems to make stars in the sky. I also printed a sentiment inside the cards, and added another Merry Alien. This card was so much fun to make, maybe I'll make all my Christmas cards out of this world this year!

I'm linking up with the following challenges:

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - Y is for Yucky (although I personally think the little merry alien is rather cute, but in theory someone could think grey aliens are yucky. Maybe that's good enough for the Sisters?)

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra - Anything Goes 

Sparkles Christmas Challenges - A Christmas Critter with a Splash of Glitter (An alien is a critter of kinds, right?)

Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes

Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes 

Card: Coloured 240 gsm kraft card Black, Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay, Daler&Rowney watercolour 300 gsm paper
Stamps: Dr Digi X files X Mas digi stamp
Colouring: Copics C1, C3, C5, R24, R46, YG11, Stampin' Write markers Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Signo White Gel Pen
Other: Red and white bakes twine from my stash, Ice Stickles Crystal Ice and Mint Ice, Stampin' Up Basic Rhinestones