Last-Minute Christmas Card

Happy Friday!  I had to sneak in one more Christmas card for you.  This one is quick and easy, which is just about all I have time for right now.   I love the Christmas season and will be sad to see it end, but I won't miss the craziness of holiday preparations!

Here's my keep-it-simple Christmas card for today:

I started by making a card base from Crumb Cake card stock.  I used some dark green card stock to die cut three Christmas trees, then added some color by watercoloring over them in green.  To add a little sparkle and texture, I outlined them and scribbled over them with a clear Spica pen.  (It's hard to see the texture and sparkle in this picture.)  I stamped the sentiment in Handsome Hunter using both a pad and a marker (I didn't like the coverage I got with a stamp pad alone, so I used the stamp pad first and then filled in any light spots with the marker before stamping).  Since this is a large stamp and some of the letters had spots that still weren't as dark as I'd like, I used a blender pen to fill in where needed.  I added a background of ivory burlap, then added my die cut trees over the burlap with mini glue dots.  For a little sparkle, I added some rhinestones near my sentiment. 

I hope you are feeling the joy of the Christmas season, too.  Thanks for stopping by today!

 

Products Used:

 

Stamp: Hero Arts
Paper: Crumb Cake card stock (Stampin' Up!), dark green card stock (unknown)

Ink: Handsome Hunter Classic Dye Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories and Tools: Framelits Holiday Collection (Stampin' Up!); Watercolor Crayons (Staedtler);
Spica pen (Too Marker Products); rhinestones (Zva Creative); ivory burlap

Joyful Trees for Christmas

Yay, it's Friday!!  I don't know about you, but I could sure use a weekend! 

This week's Ways to Use It Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers asks us to use "fussy cutting" on a card.  Fussy cutting is cutting very carefully (usually with precision scissors or a craft knife) around an image, so it takes some extra time and effort.  I've also been a bit fascinated by a technique I've recently learned about called "inlaid embossing".  This technique involves adhering die cuts, layers, etc. together and then dry embossing those elements right into the paper.  There are so many possibilities for this technique, but for today's card I combined fussy cutting with inlaid embossing and kept my design fairly simple. 

Here's my card:

 

I started by fussy-cutting the trees from some patterned designer paper I had in my stash.  I tried to keep just a tiny bit of the border around each tree to help it stand out against the background.  I adhered the trees to a piece of dark green card stock in slightly uneven rows (intentionally this time!) and then ran the whole panel through my Big Shot using the Bow Strings embossing folder horizontally.  I stamped my sentiment in Pine on a piece of Natural White card stock (which is a lovely off-white color), then adhered the sentiment to dark green and kraft card stocks.  My kraft card stock isn't very heavy, so I lined the inside panel of the card with Natural White card stock to add support. 

 

I pulled a fiber strand from some off-white burlap I have in my materials stash and adhered it over my inlaid embossing panel. ( I love the slightly frayed look I can get from burlap.)  I attached the embossed panel to a card base made from kraft card stock.   I added some Glossy Accents to the "joy" sentiment and set it aside to dry.  I wanted this card to be understated, but just couldn't resist a tiny bit of shine!

 

I hope you are having a blessed Advent season  Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Products Used:

 

Stamp: Naughty or Nice (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Ancient Page Pine (Clearsnap)

Paper: Solar Crest Natural White 80 lb. (Neenah); Cutesy Christmas Trees patterned paper (The Paper Studio); dark green card stock (unknown); kraft card stock (unknown)

Other: Burlap fiber; Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Silver Bells, Teapots and Glitter...Oh My!

Happy Tuesday!  This week I decided to join two challenges that are new to me.  The first is the Teapot Tuesday Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  The Teapotters are a great group of stampers who use a different teapot each week to inspire their cards, and then they send the cards off to a designated person who could use some "happy mail" that week.  This week's inspirational teapot is a beautiful silver one, and our destination for cards is the mother of a fellow stamper who is dealing with several medical issues.  She normally loves Christmas but is having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year, so we are sending lots of silvery, sparkly cards with a Christmas theme (and we are asked to throw in a hint of pink if we want to really make the card special for her).  

The second challenge I'm joining is the Use It Tuesday Challenge (see the blog and challenge HERE).  This challenge asks us to use items from our stash (instead of hoarding them while daydreaming about all the Pinteresty things we could be doing with them), and this week we're asked to make a Christmas or Hanukkah card.  I have so many lovely things in my stash that really need to see some paper action, so it was fun to dig in and use what I already have.  All of the supplies used on this card are from my stash, but here are two things I was really excited to unearth from my stash to use on this card:

• Glitter.  The real stuff you adhere with glue.  I've had a package of several beautiful glitters that I never use because of the mess (I usually use embossing powders or glitter glue).  It was really fun (and incredibly messy) to use some of the real stuff! 

• Hot pink and white baker's twine.  I bought a sampler of several twine colors but had not found a use for the hot pink color until now.  Isn't it cute here?

So here is my shimmery, glittery, Christmasy card:

 

 

I wasn't sure if I would like silver on silver, but the sparkly glitter pulls so many other subtle colors that I think it works.  It's hard to see in the picture just how shiny my ornaments really are, but just imagine preschooler-playing-with-glitter sparkly and multiply that by 10!  I also had difficulty getting "true" colors photographed on this card.  The sentiment panel is white (it looks a bit green on my computer screen, but it's actually stark white) and the baker's twine is hot pink and white (no red or green on this card, per Teapotter instructions!).

 

I started with a Basic Black card stock base and a piece of silver shimmer paper.  I die cut three circles from heavy white card stock, then covered them in silver glitter glue to create an extra-sparkly glue base for my glitter.  I added glitter and used my heat tool to speed up the drying process (I should really learn to be more patient, because the heat tool pretty much blew that glitter from here to eternity).  I added more glitter and silver glitter glue and attempted to find a modicum of patience. 

 

Meanwhile, I added hot pink and white baker's twine to my silver panel and stamped my sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black on heavy white card stock.  I adhered the sentiment piece to a larger piece of black card stock.  I carefully (oh, so carefully because that darned glitter was still wet) adhered my ornaments to the silver panel with dimensionals.  I pulled the ornaments' edges forward slightly to keep the paper from buckling from the glitter glue and to give the ornaments a bit more distinction from the background.  I added my sentiment panel to the front and adhered a piece of white card stock as a liner for the inside.  Then I set it aside to dry and did a happy dance that I finished another card without completely smudging the glitter glue!

 

Here's a tip: If you're using a lot of glue of any kind (in this case, glitter glue), it helps to use a heavy weight card stock.  I've found that lighter weight card stocks will buckle more than the heavier card stocks.  This card stock held up really well to my multiple layers of glitter glue.

 

Do you want to know what a craft room looks like after a messy crafter uses this much glitter?  No, trust me, you don't.  It's really too bad I do my stamping in the middle of the night, because there was so much glitter on me by the time I was done that I looked all glammed up for a night on the town! 

Thanks for joining me for a bit of sparkle and shine today!

 

Products Used:

Stamp: Polar Bears (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)

Paper: Basic Black card stock (Stampin' Up!);
Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb. card stock (Neenah); Shimmer Matstack (DCWV)

Tools and Accessories: Nestabilities Standard Circles Large (Spellbinders); Silver Glitter Glue (Studio G);
Silver Holiday Glitter (Sulyn Industries); Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); baker's twine

 

 

Two Snuggly Snow Friends

Happy Monday!  We finally had a cold snap where I live, so I was inspired to make another snowman card.  This time I have two snowy friends wrapped in a hug.  I think this is such a sweet image!  It is a large one and I think it's perfect for a one-layer card.  This card is my submission for this week's "Let it Snow" challenge at ABC Challenges (you can see the challenge HERE).  One-layer cards are fantastic for mailing (no bulk! no extra postage!) and they can be completed quickly (if you're not constantly getting interrupted by kids or a husband...). 

Here's my card:

I started with Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb. card stock.  This is a heavyweight card stock that holds up well to multiple layers and also to watercoloring.  I stamped my image in Memento Tuxedo Black, then grabbed my favorite watercoloring crayons.  I prefer to dip my brush in water and then pick up the color from my crayons rather than coloring directly on the paper.  This method allows me to control the amount of color I put down, layer the colors, and also use different sized brushes so I don't get stray marks outside the lines (hopefully).

To add depth, I inked up the white space around the image and the card edges with Memento New Sprout using the "direct to paper" method.  I used a dew drop pad because it works really well for getting the ink into small spaces.  Rather than put a sentiment on the front, I can add a sentiment inside for a holiday or leave it blank to make a nice note card.  Since I colored this one in red and green, I will add a Christmas sentiment inside before mailing it.  I could easily use other colors and create a winter-themed friendship, birthday or love card.  This stamp is quite versatile!

This is a large cling-mount stamp, and since I recently purchased a Fiskars Stamp Press I thought I would give it a try on this card.  I have to say that I love the press!  It allows me to line up my stamp exactly where I want it on the page and helps me put down an even layer of ink with a large stamp.  It also works well for using several small stamps at once to make a scene.  I hadn't bought one sooner because I kept thinking it was unnecessary, but after reading several reviews and watching videos online I decided to give it a try (thank you, 50% off coupon at Michaels).  This tool was definitely worth the money! 

It's beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas around my neck of the woods!  I hope you, too, are enjoying the blessings of this Advent season amid the hustle and bustle of holiday planning.

Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

 

Paper: Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb. (Neenah)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento New Sprout (Tsukineko)

Stamp: Jumbo Snowfall Pair (Stampendous)

Tools and Accessories: Watercolor Crayons (Staedtler); Stamp Press (Fiskars); watercolor brushes and water

Holly Jolly Sparkly Snowman

Whew!  It's been several days since my last post but I finally have a new card to share with you. This card was so much fun to create!  I started with an idea in my head that actually worked out on paper, which is always exciting!

For today's card I decided to CASE (Copy and Share Everything) some ideas I saw recently and use them to make an original card.  I saw a project on Splitcoast Stampers that used embossed circles for a snowman's body (see the project HERE)  and I really liked the idea of embossing a snowman.  I also saw a card that used a swirled embossing folder with glitter glue (see it HERE), and I was inspired to add Stickles to my embossing.  This week's Try a New Technique Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers asked us to make our own snowmen, so I used these ideas to create this sparkly, swirly snowman card:

I tried photographing this many times and just couldn't get a picture of the whole card that really shows the sparkle on the snowman as well as the embossing on the blue piece, so here are a couple of close-ups:

I started with a Neenah 110 lb. white card base and added a piece of wintry patterned paper to cover the card front.  I die cut 3 circles from Whisper White card stock, then embossed them with the D'Vine Swirls embossing folder.  I created a hat from black card stock and attached it to the "head" of the snowman.  I stamped my sentiment on Whisper White in Versafine Onyx Black and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder, then attached it to a piece of black card stock.  I cut a strip of blue card stock and embossed it with the Swirls, Ribbons and Snowflakes embossing folder, then cut the end to a point.

Once I had all the elements cut and stamped, I attached them to the card front.  I carefully applied Star Dust Stickles directly from the bottle to the raised embossing on the snowman.  I wanted to add some dimension to the snowflakes on my blue piece, so I added Stickles to the centers.  I quickly decided I didn't like the way that looked, so I added tiny pearls to the centers instead. 

I set the card aside to dry overnight (and somehow managed not to smear my Stickles, which was quite a feat for me!).  I had so much fun with this card that I will probably make a few more using different backgrounds, colors and embossing folders. 

I am also entering this card for the Paper Players #124 Challenge (snowman cards) and the ABC Challenge #7 (holiday cards with bling).  Thanks for stopping by today!

Products Used:
 

Stamp: Merry Merry (Recollections)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)

Paper: Solar White 110 lb. card stock (Neenah); Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!); Arctic Wishes Matstock (DCWV); black card stock, blue card stock (unknown)

Tools and Accessories: Circles #2 die (Sizzix); D'Vine Swirls embossing folder (Cuttlebug); Swirls, Ribbons and Snowflakes embossing folder (BasicGrey/Sizzix); Big Shot (Sizzix); clear embossing powder (Mrs. O'Leary's); Star Dust Stickles (Ranger); tiny pearls (Zva Creative)

Glittery Embossed Christmas Stocking

Today's card incorporates a fun technique that I'm excited to share with you!  I created this card for this week's Try a New Technique Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  We were challenged to use the Glittery Embossing technique, which uses dry embossing, glitter glue and a brayer.  What fun! 

Here's my card:

I decided to use a square card to accommodate my large scalloped circles, so I cut a 5 x 5 card base from Real Red card stock.  I cut a 4.75 x 4.75 piece of Whisper White card stock to layer on top of the base (in this photo it looks more like silver than white, but it's actually a white square).  I die cut a piece of silver card stock and a piece of Real Red card stock with scalloped circle dies.  For the glittery embossing, I dry embossed the red circle with the Snowburst embossing folder in my Big Shot and set it aside.  I squirted some some Stickles (glitter glue) on a piece of scrap card stock and spread it out a bit, then ran my brayer through the Stickles until it was completely covered.  (I used Star Dust Stickles to create an icy look, but it's hard to see in this picture.)  I ran my brayer several times over my embossed red scalloped circle to deposit the glitter glue all over the embossed piece, then set it aside to dry. 

Next I stamped my stocking in Real Red on another piece of white card stock and die cut it.  I added silver glitter glue to the top and tiny rhinestones to the center of each snowflake.  I set the stocking aside to allow the glitter glue to dry overnight.

The next day, I adhered the layers to each other and attached the stocking with dimensionals (I added a bit of Tombow Mono Multi glue on top of the dimensionals because I find that helps adhere things to embossed backgrounds).  I curled the edges of the red embossed piece to add even more dimension.  I added a rhinestone to each corner of the card and a white liner to the inside panel.  Easy peasy!  Although it took two days to create this card (to allow the glitter glue to dry), I didn't spend a lot of time working on it at each session. 

I have a few tips to share with you today, all based on my own mistakes while making this card.  First, if you are going to die cut and emboss a piece of card stock, be sure to cut first, emboss second.  If you do it the other way, your embossing will get squished.  Second, if you smudge your ink, there are ways to fix it.  I smudged the red on my stocking onto the white area around it (in a very small place, but it really bothered me) so I used a white gel pen to cover up the red marks.  If you layer it on slowly, it usually works.  I got a little too ambitious, however, and ended up getting the white gel ink on the red stocking...grrrr.  So I used a tip I learned from another blogger recently: I grabbed my blender pen and some Real Red ink and blended the red ink over the white marks.  It worked like a charm!  I can't remember which blogger shared the tip, but she successfully uses her blender pen to fill in gaps on stamped images that have "bald spots" where the ink didn't transfer.  This is a pretty handy trick to have up your sleeve!

I hope to try the glittery embossing technique on some larger panels that I can use to make my own background papers.  There are many options and variations on this technique, and I hope you will give it a try, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

 

Ink: Real Red Classic Dye Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Real Red, Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!); silver card stock (unknown)

Stamp and Matching Die: Hero Arts Stamp & Cut Christmas Stockings set

Tools and Accessories: Nestabilities Scalloped Classic Circles Large (Spellbinders); Star Dust Stickles (Ranger);

Silver Glitter Glue (Studio G); Big Shot (Sizzix); Snowburst embossing folder (Sizzix/Stampin' Up!);

Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Mono Multi glue (Tombow); rhinestones

Embossed Snowflakes CASE

How can we be approaching the middle of November already?  What a month it has been!  My baby has gone from taking just a few steps at time to practically sprinting everywhere, keeping this mama running from one end of the house to the other all day.  While she's wearing me out, she's also wearing herself out, which means she's sleeping better and I can get a little more crafting time in at night.  So there is a silver lining!

Today's card is for the Featured Stamper challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  For this challenge, we pick a card from that person's gallery to CASE (Copy and Share Everything).  We are asked to make at least two changes so the card is not an exact duplicate.  Here is a link to the card I chose to CASE:  Embossed Snowflakes

And here is my card:

While I kept the overall design and color scheme of the original card, I made a few changes.  I used a different snowflake embossing folder because I don't own the one she used.  Her embossing folder left a flat area for stamping in the bottom right-hand corner, but mine does not, so I stamped my sentiment on a label and attached it to the panel.  I sponged ink around my sentiment to add dimension to the label against the white background.  I didn't have the sentiment she used so I chose a different one, and instead of pearls in the centers of the snowflakes, I used White Enamel Accents. 

I started by dry embossing a piece of Whisper White card stock with an embossing folder in my Big Shot.  Next I stamped my sentiment on another piece of white card stock.  I didn't like the color I was getting with Night of Navy by itself, so I inked my stamp first with Cobalt and then with Night of Navy.  This achieved the deeper color I was looking for.  I cut out the sentiment with a labels die in my Big Shot, sponged around the edges with Night of Navy, then adhered the sentiment to the white panel.  I attached the white panel to the Night of Navy card base, then added White Enamel Accents on the snowflake centers, which I left to dry overnight.  This card was quick and easy to put together, and I love the colors for winter.  I could easily change the sentiment to something "not-Christmasy" for a winter card that could be used throughout the season.

Here's a tip for using an embossing folder in a die cut machine (such as the Big Shot): If my card stock isn't getting as deep of an impression as I'd like, I mist the card stock with a bit of water right before putting it in the embossing folder.  I will sometimes run the folder through my machine more than once, but I usually find the water mist does the trick with just one pass through the machine.

I have a few more cards in the works and hope to post another one tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

 

Stamp: WordPlay - Joy (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Whisper White and Night of Navy card stock (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Ancient Page Dye Ink in Cobalt (Clearsnap); Night of Navy Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Tools and Accessories: Big Shot (Sizzix); Snowflakes #9 embossing folder (Sizzix); Nestabilities Labels Eighteen (Spellbinders); White Enamel Accents (Inkssentials)

You Warm My Heart with Polka Dots

This week's Clean and Simple (CAS) Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers was a sketch challenge (they provide a sketch and we use it for the card's design).  The Try a New Technique Challenge (also at Splitcoast Stampers) required us to use polka dots somewhere on our cards.  I combined both challenges in this card:

 

The stamps are from a Close to My Heart clear stamp set.  While I normally prefer rubber stamps, I absolutely love CTMH clear stamps.  They stamp quite well with a variety of inks and I think they make a very clean impression.  I bought this set because of the coffee images in it (the coffee cup in my previous post is from this set), but I thought these mittens and the tiny snowflake were adorable.  I hadn't even noticed the polka dot stamp in this set until tonight, and it worked perfectly for adding the dots required by the challenge!  I love stamp sets that have multiple uses.

The images are stamped on white card stock using classic dye inks from Stampin' Up! in Rose Red and Handsome Hunter.  (I don't think I will ever get those tiny snowflakes to stamp in a perfectly straight line!)  The white card stock is adhered to dark green card stock, and I used a thin piece of that same card stock to make the solid strip under the polka dots.  Because my larger piece of dark green card stock was not big enough for a card base, I trimmed it to fit as a card front and adhered it to a white card stock base.  The benefit of a white card stock base is that you won't need to put a liner inside your card for writing your message.

This card is quick and easy to make. Cards like this are perfect for making multiples at one time, and you can always vary the sentiment, colors or image if you didn't want duplicates. I like to keep extra cards on hand or add them to my box for Operation Write Home, so I try to make duplicates of "general" cards. (I don't tend to make duplicates of birthday cards for family and friends, as I try to make each birthday card specific to the person receiving it.)

One of the biggest difficulties I face in creating Clean and Simple cards is leaving all that white space!  The idea behind CAS is that you will have lots of open space and little (if any) layers or embellishments. I think CAS cards look deceptively simple sometimes.  If you make mistakes, they are easily seen on a CAS card. You can't just add an embellishment to cover them up!  I really love the clean look of a CAS card, especially with bold, vibrant colors.

That's all for today. Thanks for visiting!