SSC296 ROUND AND ROUND

It is a sketch challenge at Sunday Stamps and I had these circles left from a die frame as well as a test piece of mica stained CS. I decided to use the circles and some cuts from my test piece along with a leftover section of an embossed piece. I added the circles and then the panel to a mirror piece to give a small frame. The trees are from a StampinUp set from last year and once die cut I added them to the circles. Then I used a Divinity Design set from a couple of years ago called Beary Christmas and I stamped the 3 smallest images, coloured them with pencils, die cut, added a tiny bit of sparkle and then on to the circles. Using an unbranded banner die I cut the sentiment piece and added it underneath the center bear. The two panels were added to a small slimline piece. I added a few sticker stars as embellishments and called it finished. I have quite a few cards done for Christmas but still have a number to go. At least most of the international ones are done as well as all the ones for the USA. Hopefully you are all catching up on your own Christmas cards and thanks for taking a look here.

Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge

For this card I used a little Trinity Stamp die that came as a thank you for shopping with them in an order I made. I used some StampingUp DSP to cut out the cup and paper pieced the the design back into the cup. The little bird is from an SSS set and was left over from a previous card and the background piece was something I stenciled ages ago and didn’t like much so it was pushed aside. It works as the frame for the rest so I’m glad I didn’t toss it. The holly is from a Sizzix die set and the berries are from CTMH, also so old that they were forgotten about. I used a negative from an MFT die for the word and tried something that Gina K did with foil. I coloured it and then placed it behind the negative piece. I punched the corners of the panels before adding to the card front. This is my last card for today. My shoulder is hurting from a pulled muscle and I think a rest is in order else I’ll not be able to sleep later. Thanks for stopping by.

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge #27

The die cut is from Paper Rose and I got it recently in a sale so had to use it. The stamp is from a set by StampinUp. I started with some Navy CS and I added some additional colour to it using inks. I had the idea of using stars across the sky, but couldn’t find the stamp I needed so used a couple from different sets (StampinUp, GKD and SSS) that look like snow along with a tiny star that I stamped individually. I did the stamping with Versamark but completely forgot to use my magic bag and to check the ink was dry so it was a shock when I added the gold embossing powder. Using a brush I got some of it off and then heated it. I thought I had ruined the card front, but night skies often look full of stars and I decided that the extra gold just filled the sky more. After die cutting the village I added it to the card front and then added some Cosmic Shimmer fluffy stuff so it looks snowy. I don’t think I’ll forget to check that ink is dry again as it was a good lesson to learn and makes me think I need more patience.

In the meantime I spent a few hours cleaning up my space and putting away my new items. It had gotten so I couldn’t see my desk for all the stuff that was on it. I’ve reorganized some of my stamps so hopefully I will be able to find the ones I need more easily.

Have a fun day all, and thanks for stopping by.

Just Us Girls Challenge #657 – Word Week

This little stamp is an oldie, from Great Impressions, but I still like it so I pull it out each year and do at least one card using it. As I had used the metallic piece to cut a frame for another project I had the negative left over. I stamped the image on white CS and only added some glitter to it using both a silver and a gold Sakura pen. The sentiment word comes from last years StampinUp Xmas set and I added some tiny stars to it after stamping. Once the image was finished I added the negative oval on top and then added a mirror piece behind to give some additional shine along with 2 strips of PP also from StampinUp at the sides. I’m not sure the company the stamp came from is even in business these days, so that shows how long I’ve had it. I like that there is barely any colour on this card except for the shine.

We have gone from heat to cold with no transition between the seasons. For a few days it was wind and rain, but now we have some snow and the higher mountains have lots on top. I guess people will be skiing soon. I hope you are all enjoying your fall, or summer, as the case may be depending on where you live. Have a great day and thanks for taking a look.

November Stencil Fun

Sadly this photo doesn’t really show how nice this card actually is because it looks so busy in the picture. It isn’t as busy looking in reality and I am reasonably happy with how it turned out. It began as a square card and I stenciled the ferns in the fall colours and got stuck with what I should do next. I was moving something on my desk when one of the extra poinsettia pieces fell onto the inked piece. It kind of looked good so I added a few more and left it overnight. I still wasn’t sure about it, but thought I would like it better if I folded the card from a square into what you see here. Then I decided that I could make it into a Christmas card with the fall colours in the background and this is what I ended up with. When making a different card the other day I experimented with stamping some music notes onto some shimmer CS and then die cutting it out using a Sizzix leafy sprig die. Although it worked in one way I didn’t really like it for the card I was making at the time. Yesterday I experimented with spraying the left over bit (already cut up into smaller pieces) with the new Mica Stain I had just gotten. I quite liked the effect so left them to dry. I had cut several white layers of the words and glued them together so today I added the silver over the top using Spectrum Noir Glitter brushes. Note to remember is that the glitter brush liquid doesn’t stick well to any left over bits of glue at the edges. Once the sentiment pieces were added it still didn’t feel finished so I added an additional Poinsettia with the leaf sprig bits around it and this hangs off the edge of the fold. A few green and gold embellishments for more sparkle and it was complete. Our wooded area is filled with natural ferns and they are turning into these colours as fall progresses. Perhaps not my best card, but it certainly isn’t my worst and I hope it works for the stencil challenge. Have a good weekend everyone.

Thankful~Blessings~Grateful Challenge & Anything Goes Embossing With A Twist of PUMPKINS

Fall weather has set in with a vengeance this week and today we are experiencing our 3rd Atmospheric river so it is wet and windy right now. Thankfully our new generator is installed and functioning so if the power goes out we will not have to worry. I guess this card is particularly apropos considering the conditions as we have leaves everywhere. The embossed piece is left over from a previous project and I backed it with some coppery coloured sparkle before adding it to the chocolate card front. The leaf sprig is die cut using an old Sizzix set and some soft metallic PP. The other leaves use some stick on outlines in gold which I added to an inked watercolour piece and then fussy cut. I used some gold thread to make a small bow on the leaves and used an MFT stamp for the sentiment which I also backed with the coppery PP. I didn’t have a specific idea in mind when I started this and just let it evolve, which sometimes works really well. In this case I can say I’m quite happy with the result. As this card uses embossing I am adding it to 2 challenges, one at DD- Fall Grateful and one at CYHTP- without the twist. Thanks for taking a look.

Color Hues #52- Turquoise and Mustard

Color Hues uses Turquoise and Mustard for their challenge colours this week. I decided to try out a new Distress Mica Stain for the Turquoise so I reached for a stencil and sprayed through it. I wasn’t totally happy with the results as I got a few blobs in places so I cut it down and added the layer to black sparkle layer. I also added a bit more colour with a brush and used Distress Oxide Mustard Seed for the yellow flower centers. Using an MFT word die set I chose the Hugs and die cut it first in white, which I then sprayed with the mica stain and then again in Mustard using a paint swatch. It is actually more of a Mustard colour than the ink. Once the mica spray had dried I added the Turquoise layer to the Mustard layer offsetting slightly. Then I staggered the letters as you see in the photo. Added a few Turquoise embellishments here and there to finish the card. I like the Mica stain a lot and have two other colours I can try. One is red and the other green, however the green one will not spray so I have to find out how to get an exchange. Have a great day everyone and thanks for stopping by.

Beautiful Burgundy

I was beyond thrilled when this card worked out the way it did as it was something entirely new to my repertoire. I saw the technique HERE on Frenchie Stamps and really wanted to try it out. I’ve just gotten a new Christmas paper pack from Recollections and I chose one of the papers from this pad. Instead of using the PP as an accent on top of the blocks I made my blocks from the PP. The PP is perfect for the challenge at Colorful Options so I’m entering it there. Once I had the blocks done and working properly I had to decide what else to add to the card. It took a bit of thinking, but I remembered this Lawn Fawn ‘Mice on Ice’ Set that I’ve had for a while and decided to work with it. I stamped the skating mice first and then coloured them before die cutting. To colour I used mostly Prisma pencils and Ohuhu pens and I used a blending pen on the penciled sections to blend. Using my Hero Arts star infinity dies I cut several stars and edged them with a silver pen. I added the mice and then glued them to the various blocks. The main image actually floats off the first block and the heart line holds the second mouse and small star suspended. As well I stamped a few tiny stars around the focal image mouse in gold ink. I didn’t use any foam so the card folds flat very easily. The little sentiment strip is something I took off a card I received last year. It was too nice to throw away and I knew I would find a use for it at some point. It is perfect for this design and colours. Although this card looks complicated to make, it is actually quite easy. The hardest part is the cutting and scoring of each block, but once that is done it goes together easily. I think I shall make a few more of these as I like how this one turned out. My hubby was quite impressed and I sure hope you all like it too. Have a great day everyone and thanks for looking.

During a recent Spellbinders sale I purchased a stamp set and the small dies called Kaleidoscope Plaid. I couldn’t wait to try cutting out the plaid so chose some CS scraps and proceeded to cut a bunch. I put one set together making it into a gift package and then using one of the curved stamps and VersaMark I stamped the gifts across the white layer and heat embossed them with a cosmic shimmer powder. I also heat embossed the curved sentiment. Added a few embellishments underneath the sentiment, from my stash and the ribbon around the package is also from my stash. I added the white panel to the navy card front and called it finished. It could be a birthday card as well, but I decided on another Christmas card. I’m glad the challenge is anything goes because my colours aren’t the traditional ones. Have a fun day everyone.

I’m sure it is the same for many of you, but for me, my best friend is my hubby first and foremost. Without him I’m not sure where I would be. Anyway the little snow people stamp I have from Stampendous seemed to be the best one for me to use for the challenge at JUG’s as the image reminds me of the hugs I get from my hubby everyday. The Peace on Earth challenge is an anything goes and I decided this card would also work for that challenge as well.

I fussy cut the image leaving only the couple and added foam tape so it could be popped up. The image was coloured with Prisma pencils and I discovered that the Spectrum Noir blending pen is great for blending the pencils, easier than Gamsol actually. The PP was cut 2″ for the bottom and 1″ at the top and adhered to the card front. PP is from a Recollections pad I got recently from Michaels. I used a glitter paper from Scrapbook.com and an unbranded die for the heart and word. I’m quite happy with how this card turned out and as I’m getting into Christmas creating this week its nice to have another one in my stash. Thanks for looking and have a great day.